Geography is the study of Earth and its climates. Scientists use it to study global warming and track the weather. Governments use it to learn where people live and work and to plan what to do with the land. It is now easier than ever to use geography because of a science called space technology.
The United States launched its first satellite in 1958. Some space missions that followed were geographical studies. In fact, earth science is a big part of the work of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
Astronauts looked out of the space shuttle. They decided to take photographs of Earth from their vantage point. Over the years, picture quality improved. Shuttle photography now shows land features, such as rivers. It can even show the streets of large cities. Photos of the same places at different times show how the land is changing.
NASA does not use just photographs, though. In 1958 it launched TIROS (the Television Infrared Observation Satellite). This first use of a satellite to study Earth was effective in giving weather forecasts. It led to the creation of new space tools to use in geography.
The Landsat Program began in 1972. This satellite sent detailed views of Earth from space. The pictures were so precise that scientists could count the number and kinds of crops in a field. Landsat showed where Earth’s surface had faults along which earthquakes might happen. This information helped in the planning of new cities and factories. Landsat also made discoveries. In Antarctica it located ranges of unknown mountains. It pinpointed small lakes in Virginia that were no ton maps. Landsat, now more advanced, still flies today.
Another space tool is Earth Observing-1 (EO-1). This spacecraft flies right behind Landsat. It takes pictures of the same sites. The two sets of pictures, viewed together, show how cities grow and how other places, such as rain forests, become smaller over time. This helps scientists learn how people affect geography.
One of the newest space tools is the Geographical Information Systems (GIS). GIS is computer software that helps scientists to study Earth. GIS is different from earlier space tools. Businesses, schools, and even average people — not just the government —can use it to show them how changes in the planet might affect them.Why do governments study geography according to the passage?
| A．To improve the environment. |
| B．To make the land use plan. |
| C．To make new discoveries. |
| D．To count the crops in a field. |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．The U.S. satellite program began in 1972. |
| B．Landsat was able to take pictures of other planets. |
| C．TIROS was successful in giving weather forecasts. |
| D．GIS can only be used by the government. |
EO-1 takes photographs of the same places as Landsat because __________.
| A．the two groups of pictures can show the changes of Earth |
| B．EO-1 is practicing for future photography missions |
| C．Landsat is out of date and new pictures are needed |
| D．Landsat can’t send detailed views of Earth from space |
From the passage, we can infer that ___________.
| A．GIS is the newest computer to study Earth |
| B．NASA only depends on photos to study Earth |
| C．satellite pictures can give more detailed information |
| D．recent U.S. satellites are as advanced as the old ones |
阅读理解
Rachel Carson was born in the USA on May 27，1907．Her mother，Maria Carson，had been a schoolteacher．She loved books．She also loved nature．She showed Rachel the beauty of nature．
She also taught Rachel a deep love for books．As a quiet child，Rachel liked to read and write stories．At a very early age，she decided she wanted to be a writer some day．Her story first appeared in a children’s magazine when she was ten years old．
Her first book，Under the Sea Wind came out in 1941．In 1948．Miss Carson began working on another book，The Sea Around Us．She always researched carefully when she wrote．She collected information from more than one thousand places to write The Sea Around Us．When the book came out in 1951。it won the National Book Award．It was No.1 on the best－seller list for more than a year．The Sea Around Us made Rachel Carson famous．
Rachel Carson’s most famous book，Silent Spring came out in 1962．In this book，she pointed out that the use of some kinds of pesticides(杀虫剂)like DDT would cause the number of birds to decline because it would kill them as well．Finally，in November 1969，the United States government，decided that the use of DDT must stop in two years．
Rachel Carson has been regarded as a great environmentalist(环保主义者)and writer．She will be remembered by the world．Rachel Carson had a deep love for nature and books because of________．
| A．her father |
| B．her mother |
| C．her schoolteacher |
| D．her brother |
Rachel decided that she wanted to be a writer when________．
| A．she was very young |
| B．she was in college |
| C．she became a teacher |
| D．she became famous |
The Chinese meaning of the word“decline”in this passage is probably“________”．
| A．增加 |
| B．减少 |
| C．维持 |
| D．翻番 |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage？
| A．Rachel Carson was a careful and serious writer． |
| B．The Sea Around Us won the National Book Award． |
| C．In Silent Spring Rachel said some pesticides were bad for the environment． |
| D．The use of DDT was stopped as soon as the book Silent Spring came out． |
阅读理解(2014贵阳)
Paul Nicklen waited patiently on a sheet of ice in the Arctic．He was there to take pictures for National Geographic．Finally，he saw something big and white．It was a polar bear，swimming towards him in the icy water．
Paul lay down on the ice to get a better photo，but the polar bear jumped out of the water and tried to attack him！Luckily for Paul，the ice cracked，or broke．and the bear fell back into the water．The polar bear wasn’t so lucky．It couldn’t get a meal and had to swim farther away to find food．
To understand the polar bear’s problem，you need to know two things about the Arctic．First，the Arctic is mostly ocean．Second，ice covers a lot of the Arctic Ocean．In winter，the ice forms a thick，white sheet，but in summer，the ice becomes thinner and breaks into pieces．Sea ice is the key to survival(幸存)for Arctic animals．However，because of global warming，Arctic temperatures are rising and polar ice is melting．
Polar bears need ice to hunt seals，their favorite meal．They stand on the ice and wait for the seals to come up for air．As Arctic ice melts，polar bears have to swim farther to find ice floes，or large pieces of floating ice．Sometimes，bears have to swim more than 200 km to find an ice floe．Some bears cannot swim that far and，sadly，they drown．
On his last trip，Paul Nicklen saw three dead bodies of polar bears．Before global warming threatened Arctic ice，a dead bear was a rare sight．Paul is sad to see the dead bodies．Wildlife experts think global warming will have a terrible effect on polar bears．In the future，polar ice will continue to shrink and endanger the bears．some scientists believe 65 percent of the world’s polar bears will disappear by 2050．In other words，polar bears are in great danger．The main idea of the passage is that________．
A．polar bears are amazing swimmers
B．Arctic temperatures are rising
C．global warming is endangering polar bearsThe polar bear that tried to attack Paul was unlucky because________．
A．Paul swam away
B．it was on an ice floe
C．it couldn’t eat PaulAccording to the passage，polar bears hunt seals by________．
A．waiting on the ice
B．waiting in the water
C．drowning the sealsFrom the passage，Paul Nicklen is maybe a________．
A．scientist
B．photographer
C．psychologistWe can infer that polar bears________．
A．won’t have any food in 2050
B．will all die before 2050
C．cannot find food easily
阅读理解
(2014广州)
In early November of 1503，during Christopher Columbus’s fourth and final trip to America，his ship was seriously damaged in a storm．Columbus and his men had to live on a small island for several months while they tried to repair their ship and return to Spain．
At first，the local people on the island were very kind to the European visitors，giving them allthe food and clothes they needed to survive．However，as the months passed，the local people became more and more unhappy with their guests，who were tricking and stealing from them．Finally the locals decided to stop helping．Without food or any way to leave the island，Columbus’s group was soon in serious trouble．
Luckily for Columbus，he had a book about the stars and planets on his ship．It described the movements of all the objects in the night sky．The book，written by a well－known German scientist，said there would be a total lunar eclipse(月食)on the evening of February 29，1504 and how long it would last．
Columbus worked out the difference in time between Germ any and North America．He then had a meeting with the local leaders just before the eclipse would take place．In this meeting，Columbus told them his god was angry because the local people were no longer giving food．So his god would take away the moon to punish them．The moment Columbus finished talking，just as he had planned，the moon began disappearing．
The local leaders grew frightened and quickly agreed to provide Columbus with food and anything else he wanted．But first，Columbus’s god had to return the moon．Columbus told them he would have to discuss the idea with his god on his ship．Knowing the moon would stay completely hidden for about 48 minutes，Columbus returned just before the moon began to reappear．From that day on，until they finally left，Columbus and his men no longer had any trouble getting the food they needed．At first，the local people helped Columbus and his men by________．
| A．giving them food |
| B．building a house for them |
| C．repairing their ship |
| D．providing them with a book |
The local people became angry because the Europeans________．
| A．looked very different |
| B．had nothing to trade |
| C．were cheats and thieves |
| D．wanted to take their land |
Where did Columbus learn about the lunar eclipse？
| A．From a book． |
| B．From the moon． |
| C．From his group． |
| D．From the locals． |
What did Columbus do after returning to his ship on the night of the meeting？
| A．He discussed the problem with his god． |
| B．He waited for the eclipse to finish． |
| C．He read about the stars and planets． |
| D．He told his men what happened． |
What can we learn about the Europeans from the passage？
| A．They all believed in god． |
| B．They never returned to Spain． |
| C．They admired the local people． |
| D．They caused their own problems． |
阅读理解
While popular in the US，the April Fool’s Day tradition is even more popular in European countries，such as France and Great Britain．Although the roots of the traditional tricking are unclear，the French and the British both have their own stories about the origin of the celebration．
One story holds that the first April Fool’s Day was on April 1 of the year when the king of France introduced the new calendar．This new system placed the day that had formerly been the first day of a new year on April l．Many people were not used to the new calendar and continued(继续)to celebrate New Year’s Day on what had become the first day of April．Thus，they became the first April Fools．Others began to give funny gifts on the day to laugh at the fools who continued to celebrate the New Year on April 1．
An English story about the day，however，says that it began sometime during the 1200s．At the time，King John was in the habit of making roads out of the paths he most often walked along．The people of one particular farm village were aware of this．To avoid having their green grasslands and pastures(牧场)disturbed by one of the king’s roads，they built a fence that prevented the king from walking through their countryside．
The king sent a group of messengers(使者)to inform the villagers that they must remove the fence．Upon hearing that the king was planning to do this，however，the villagers developed a plan of their own．When the king’s messengers arrived，they were met by the villagers pretending to be mad．The people just throw things and ran around wildly．The messengers were surprised by this and reported to King John that these people were so mad that there was no necessity of punishing them．So，the villagers saved their farmland by tricking the king．In Great Britain，tradition only allows April Fool’s tricks from midnight to noon on April l．Those who try to play tricks in the afternoon become the fools themselves．Which country has the origin of the celebration of April Fool’s Day？
A．Japan．
B．France．
C．Great Britain．
D．Both B and C．When was the first April Fool’s Day？
| A．It was on April lst． |
| B．It was on April 2nd． |
| C．It was on March lst． |
| D．It was on May lst． |
Why did French people become the first April Fools？
| A．Because they were stupid． |
| B．Because they were not used to the new calendar and continued to celebrate New Year’s Day on what had become the first day of April． |
| C．Because they were happy to become the first April Fools． |
| D．Because they were given funny gifts on the day． |
The underlined word“avoid”probably means“________”in Chinese．
| A．加强 |
| B．倡议 |
| C．避免 |
| D．建造 |
From the passage we can know that________．
| A．April Fool’s Day is very popular in Asian countries |
| B．according to the English story，April Fool’s Day began sometime during the 1300s |
| C．according to the English story，King John of England was in the habit of making a building |
| D．according to the English story，the citizens of one particular farm village were against what the king did |
阅读理解
For years I went to school by bus，so I met many“familiar”strangers．We took the same bus but didn’t know each other’s names．I used to think it was impossible for us to be true friends．How wrong I was！Smiles from the“nameless”people have changed my thoughts．
The first time I got on the bus，I saw different faces．We met，greeted and cold faces turned into smiling faces．As days went on，we chatted like old friends．
But I felt it a pity that I was unable to set up the same friendship with a silent girl in the front of the bus．Her old clothing suggested that she didn’t have much money，but she always took a cup of water for the driver．I guessed she was a kind girl．But why did she sit in silence instead of talking with us？Why did she never reply to our friendly greetings？Couldn’t she smile？
Then，one evening，I got the answer．I walked to the park nearby and found the girl sitting alone under a tree，lonely and sad．I greeted her with the same warm smile that I had shown to her all these months，but this time her face turned red，then a shy smile appeared．As soon as she began her first words，I understood why she hadn’t spoken to us before．Talking was hard for her．
I learnt her story：Her parents worked hard somewhere．She lived with her disabled grandparents．She said，“I can’t express(表达)myself very well．Most of the time，I can’t say what I want to say．I have no friends but…you always smile to me like an angel…so I also want to smile．”That evening，we exchanged our names and we said goodbye like old friends．
Smile is the key to opening the door of the heart；it can break the cold walls in front of us．All the following words can describe the girl except________．
| A．silent |
| B．kind |
| C．proud |
| D．poor |
The writer often met the girl________．
| A．on the bus |
| B．in the park |
| C．at school |
| D．under the tree |
The girl had difficulty in________．
| A．listening |
| B．singing |
| C．writing |
| D．talking |
Which of the following is TRUE？
| A．The girl is very rich． |
| B．Smile is the key to closing the door of the heart． |
| C．The writer knew the name of the girl that evening． |
| D．The writer can’t make friends with those nameless people on the bus now． |
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