Space is where our future is — trips to the Moon, Mars and beyond. Most people would think that aside from comets(彗星) and stars, there is little else out there. But, since our space journey started we have left so much trash（垃圾） there that scientists are now concerned that if we don't clean it up, we may all be in mortal （致命的）danger.
The first piece of space junk was created in 1964, when the American satellite Vanguard I stopped operating and lost its connection with the ground center. However, since it kept orbiting around the Earth without any consequences, scientists became increasingly comfortable abandoning（抛弃） things that no longer served any useful purpose in space.
It is estimated （估计）that there are now over 500,000 pieces of man-made trash orbiting the Earth at speeds of up to 17,500 miles per hour. The junk varies from tiny pieces of paint chipped off rockets to cameras, huge fuel tanks, and even odd items like the million-dollar tool kit that astronaut Heidemarie Stefanyshyn Piper lost during a spacewalk.
The major problem with the space trash is that it may hit working satellites and damage traveling spacecraft(飞船). Moreover, pieces of junk may collide（碰撞） with each other and break into pieces which fall back to the Earth. To avoid this, scientists have invented several ways for clearing the sky. Ground stations have been built to monitor larger pieces of space trash to prevent them from crashing into working satellites or space shuttles. Future plans include a cooperative effort among many nations to stop littering in space and to clean up the trash already there.What was the first piece of man-made space trash?
| A．A camera. | B．A tool kit. |
| C．A fuel tank. | D．A broken satellite. |
Why were scientists NOT concerned about space trash in the beginning?
| A．It no longer served any useful purpose. |
| B．It was millions of miles away from the Earth. |
| C．It did not cause any problems. |
| D．It was regarded as similar to comets and stars. |
Which of the following statements is true about space junk?
| A．It is huge, heavy machines. |
| B．It never changes position. |
| C．It floats slowly around the Earth. |
| D．It may cause problems for space shuttles. |
What has been done about the space trash problem?
A, Scientists have cleaned up most of the trash.
B. Large pieces of space trash are being closely watched.
C. Many nations have worked together to stop polluting space.
D. Ground stations are built to help store the trash properly in space.
When buying from a dealer, the law says that a car must be:
As described:
This includes the history of the car as well as its specification．For example, if the dealer described the car as previously having “one careful lady owner”, it shouldn’t turn out to have had several previous “boy racer” owners.
Of satisfactory quality:
It must meet the standard that a reasonable person would regard as acceptable and be free from any quality problem．Also, bear in mind that a second-hand car will have a slightly different definition of what is considered “satisfactory, because there’s certainly an element of wear and tear．
Fit for the purpose:
It must be reasonable fit for any normal purpose and this includes any purpose that you specify to the seller．
●If any of the above is violated, then in theory, you may have the right to reject the vehicle and get your money back if you’re reasonably quick. Alternatively, the dealer might offer to replace or repair the car; reduce the price of offering a partial refund(退款).Once you’ve informed the dealer that you wish to reject the car , you must stop using the vehicle.
●If the rejection is not accepted, then it’s up to you to prove your case. You’ll need to pay for an independent assessment of the car and sue（打官司，起诉）for damages. If you do choose a repair, insist the dealer provide you with a hire car or pay any reasonable traveling expenses thus produced while your new car is in the garage.
●If the car is new, it’s likely that the claim will be too high to be fought. Using the small claims procedure to you may have to pay for legal representation. All this can be pretty daunting and expensive. You need to weigh up the pros and cons before rejecting a car. Would a repair do just as well? Selecting a dealer who offers a clear exchange policy may help.According to the text, what is essential after you inform the dealer of your wish to reject the car?
| A．Stopping using it | B．Demanding traveling expenses． |
| C．Suing for damages． | D．Proving your case． |
If the dealer offers to repair the car you have bought, which of the following is acceptable?
| A．Asking the dealer to provide you with repair tool sets |
| B．Asking the dealer to provide you with a hire car |
| C．Asking the dealer to pay all of your traveling expenses． |
| D．Asking the dealer to return all your money． |
Which of the following words has the closest meaning to the underlined word “daunting” in
the last paragraph?
| A．Different． | B．Discouraging． | C．Effective． | D．Convenient． |
What does the writer want to say in the last paragraph?
| A．Buyers should select a dealer that offers to repair the car． |
| B．Buyers should never reject a new car． |
| C．It’s necessary that a new car should be repaired． |
| D．Rejecting a new car is not necessarily the best choice． |
After reading the passage, you will be better at .
| A．choosing a car | B．making a claim |
| C．dealing with car sellers | D．suing for damages |
I was in my third year of teaching creative writing at a high school in New York, when one of my students, 15-year-old Mikey, gave me a note from his mother. It explained his absence from class the day before.
I had seen Mikey himself writing the note at his desk. Most parental-excuse notes I received were penned by my students. If I were to deal with them, I’d be busy 24 hours a day. The forged excuse notes made a large pile, with writing that ranged from imaginative to crazy. The writers of those notes didn’t realize that honest excuse notes were usually dull: “Peter was late because the alarm clock didn’t go off.”
Isn’t it remarkable, I thought, how the students complained and said it was hard putting 200 words together on any subject? But when they produced excuse notes, they were brilliant.
So one day I typed out a dozen excuse notes and gave them to my classes. I said, “They’re supposed to be written by parents, but actually they are not. True, Mikey?” The students looked at me nervously.
“Now, this will be the first class to study the art of the excuse note --- the first class, ever, to practice writing them. You’re so lucky to have a teacher like me who has taken your best writing and turned it into a subject worthy of study. ”
Everyone smiled as I went on, “You used your imaginations. So try more now. Today I’d like you to write ‘An Excuse Note from Adam to God’ or ‘An Excuse Note from Eve to God’.” Heads went down. Pens raced across paper. For the first time ever I saw students so careful in their writing that they had to be asked to go to lunch by their friends.
The next day everyone had excuse notes. Heated discussions followed. The headmaster entered the classroom and walked up and down, looking at papers, and then said, “I’d like you to see me in my office.”
When I stepped into his office, he came to shake my hand and said, “I just want to tell you that that lesson, that task, whatever the hell you were doing, was great. Those kids were writing on the college level. Thank you. ”What did the author do with the students found dishonest?
| A．He reported them to the headmaster. | B．He lectured them hard on honesty. |
| C．He had them take notes before lunch. | D．He helped improve their writing skills. |
The author found that compared with the true excuse notes, the produced ones by the students were usually ________.
| A．less impressive | B．less convincing | C．worse written | D．more imaginative |
The author had the students practice writing excuse notes so that the students could learn_________.
| A．the importance of being honest | B．how to be creative in writing |
| C．the pleasure of creative writing | D．how to write excuse notes skillfully |
The underlined word “forged” in the second paragraph means “________”.
| A．false | B．copied | C．former | D．honest |
What did the headmaster think of the author’s way of teaching?
| A．Misleading. | B．Difficult | C．Effective. | D．Reasonable. |
I had the meanest mother in the world. While other kids ate candy for breakfast, I had to have cereal (谷类食物), eggs or toast. While others had Cokes and candy for lunch, I had to eat a sandwich. As you can guess, my supper was different from other kids' too. But at least I wasn't alone in my sufferings. My sister and two brothers had the same mean mother as I did.
My mother insisted upon knowing where we were at all times. She had to know who our friends were and where we were going. She insisted if we said we'd be gone an hour, then we be gone one hour or less—not one hour and one minute. And she always insisted upon us telling the truth. Now you can see how mean she was.
The worst is yet to come. We had to be in bed by nine each night and up at eight the next morning. We had to wash dishes, make beds, and learn to cook. We had to wear clean clothes and take a bath, while the other kids always wore their clothes for days. I believe she laid awake at night thinking up mean things to do to us.
Through the years, things didn't improve a bit. We could not lie in bed, “sick” like our friends did, and miss school. Our marks in school had to be up to par(达到正常水平). Our friends' report cards had beautiful colors on them, black for passing, red for failing. My mother, being as different as she was, would settle for nothing less than ugly black marks.
As the years rolled by, we were one by one put to shame. We were graduated from high school. With our mother behind us, talking, hitting and demanding respect, none of us was allowed the pleasure of being a dropout.
My mother was a complete failure as a mother. Out of four children, a couple of us attained some higher education. And whom do we have to blame for the terrible way we turned out? You're right, our mean mother. She forced us to grow up into educated and honest adults.
Now I am trying to raise my three children. I am filled with pride when my children think I am mean because, you see, I had the meanest mother in the world.What does the sentence “But at least I wasn't alone in my sufferings.” mean?
| A．The author's mother was only mean to her. |
| B．The author's mother suffered her. |
| C．The author's mother was mean to her sister, brothers and her. |
| D．The author wasn't alone because of suffering. |
Why was the author's mother mean to her children?
| A．Because she wanted her children to be top students in school. |
| B．Because she wanted her children to bring home colored report cards like her friends did. |
| C．Because she wanted her children to drop out. |
| D．Because she wanted her children to do their best at school and be educated and respected citizens. |
Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．Some of the children weren't able to go to college because of their mean mother. |
| B．Mother didn't let the author tell lies. |
| C．Mother asked the author to wear clean clothes. |
| D．The author could not miss school even if she was ill. |
The passage was written in a way of _______ tone?
| A．humorous | B．hateful | C．ridiculous | D．critical |
CORVALIJS. Ore.-- Engineers at Oregon Suite University have made a breakthrough in the performance of microbial (微生物的)fuel cells that can produce electricity directly from wastewater，opening the door to a future in which waste treatment plants not only will power themselves, but will sell extra electricity.
The new technology ,developed at OSU, can now produce 10 to 50 more times the electricity, per volume, than most oilier approaches using microbial fuel cells,and 100 times more electricity than some.
Researchers say this could eventually change the way that wastewater is treated all over the world, replacing the widely used “activated sludge (泥浆) ” process that has been in use for almost a century. The new approach would produce significant amounts of electricity while effectively cleaning the wastewater,
“If this technology works on a commercial scale the way we believe it will ,the treatment of wastewater could be a huge energy producer, not a huge energy cost.” said Hong Liu ，an associate professor in the OSU Department of Biological and Ecological Engineering. “This could have an impact around the world, save a great deal of money, provide better water treatment and promote energy sustainability.”
The biodegradable (能降解的）characteristics of wastewater, if developed to their full potential, could theoretically provide many times the energy that is now being used to process them, with no additional greenhouse emissions.
OSU researchers reported several years ago on the promise of this technology, but at that time the systems in use produced far less electrical power. With new concepts, the technology can now produce more than two kilowatts per cubic meter of liquid reactor volume.
The new system also works better than an alternative approach to creating electricity from wastewater, based on anacrobic (臭氧的）digestion that produces methane (甲烷）.It treats the wastewater more effectively, and doesn’t have any of the environmental drawbacks of that technology, such as production of possible release of methane, a significant greenhouse gas.Which of the following best expresses the main idea of the passage?
| A．The treatment of wastewater is a huge energy cost. |
| B．Wastewater is being treated differently over the world. |
| C．Waste treatment plants have found a new way to power themselves. |
| D．Microbial fuel cells will produce more electricity from wastewater. |
What can we learn about the new technology from the passage?
| A．It can produce 100 times more electricity than any approach used today. |
| B．Through it more electricity can be created and water can be cleaned better. |
| C．It has already changed the way that wastewater is treated all over the world |
| D．It has opened the door to put microbial fuel cells to productive use. |
What attitude does Professor Liu hold towards the new technology?
A. Supportive. B. Critical. C Unconcerned. D. Curious.According to the last paragraph, why does the new system work better than the alternative approach?
| A．Because it is co-friendly and treats wastewater more effectively. |
| B．Because it can make full use of anaerobic digestion producing methane. |
| C．Because it may produce less methane than the alternative approach. |
| D．Because it can produce 10 times the energy than the alternative approach. |
Although man has known asbestos （石棉） for many hundreds of years, it was not until 160 years ago that it was mined for the first time on the North American continent. H.W.Johns, owner of a New York City Supply Shop for roofers, was responsible for the opening of that first mine．
Mr.Johns was given a piece of asbestos which had been found in Italy． He experimented with the material and then showed its surprising powers to his customers. After putting on a pair of asbestos gloves, which looked much like ordinary work gloves, he took red-hot coals from the fireplace and played with them in his hands.How astonished the customers were to discover that he was not burned at all．You can well imagine that he had increasing business in asbestos roofing materials． However, because it was very expensive to transport them from Italy to the United States, Mr.Johns sent out a young scientist to seek a source nearer home. This young man found great vein（岩脉）, in the province of Quebec in Canada．
Ever since 1881 Quebec has led the world in the production of this unusual mineral, which is made up of magnesium, silicon, iron, and oxygen．When it is mined, the asbestos is heavy, just as you would expect a mineral to be．When it is separated, a strange thing happens: the rock breaks down into fine, soft, soapy fibres．
Scientists do not know why the rock can be separated easily into threads, but they have found thousands of uses of this fireproof material, of the so-called “cloth of stone”．Which title best expresses the main idea of this passage?
| A．Asbestos mined in Canada | B．Fireproof matter |
| C．A “wonder” mineral | D．A new roofing material |
Johns proved his ability as a salesman by_______．
| A．going into roofing business | B．carrying asbestos from Italy |
| C．sending a trained scientist | D．showing the use of asbestos gloves |
Which is the most important characteristic of asbestos that the author wants to show us?
| A．It is like thread． | B．It feels soapy． |
| C．It burns easily． | D．It is unusually heavy． |
The author’s main purpose in writing this passage was to _______．
| A．show the need for more scientists |
| B．compare asbestos with other minerals |
| C．increase the sales of asbestos |
| D．present facts about asbestos |
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