A new planet-hunting technique has detected the most earth-like planet yet around a star other than our sun, raising hopes of finding a space rock that might support life, astronomers (天文学家) reported recently.
“This is an important discovery to answer the question ‘Are we alone?’” said Michael Turner of the National Science Foundation.
“The team has discovered the most earth-like planet yet, and more importantly, has proved the power of a new technique that is sensitive (灵敏的) to detecting planets that are fit for people to live on,” Turner said in a statement.
In the last decade, astronomers have detected more than 160 planets moving around stars outside our solar system. Most of these have been gas giant planets like Jupiter, which are unfit for life.
But an international team has detected a cold planet about 5.5 times more massive than the earth — still small enough to be considered earth-like — moving around a star about 20,000 light years away, close to the center of the Milky Way.
To find this new planet, the team used a technique called gravitational microlensing (引力微观透镜法). When a planet is circling the closest star, the planet’s gravity can add its own signature to the light. This kind of light signature was observed on July 11 by a group of telescopes in a project known as OGLE, short for Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment.
“The main advantage of microlensing is the signals for low-mass planets: They’re not weak signals. They’re just rare,” Bennett of the University of Notre Dame in Indiana said by telephone. “If there happens to be a straight line between a foreground star with its planet and the background source star, then you’re able to detect that planet.”The underlined word “detected” in Paragraph 1 probably means “_________”.
| A．discovered | B．destroyed |
| C．created | D．searched |
The author’s purpose in writing this passage is to ____.
| A．prove that scientists have a lot of difficulties in doing scientific research |
| B．explain why this planet moves around a star like our sun |
| C．teach the readers some basic knowledge about the universe |
| D．tell people about a new technique that finds the most earth-like planet moving round another star |
From the news report we can infer that _________.
| A．the planet is like the earth because it is close to the center of the Milky Way |
| B．it is quite possible that life may exist on other planets in the universe |
| C．people have no interest in finding a planet that might support life |
| D．the question “Are we alone” is too difficult for scientists to answer |
Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．The signals coming from low-mass planets are too weak to be noticed. |
| B．Most of the discovered planets are not fit for people to live on. |
| C．If a star with its planet happens to be in line with the source star, then the planet can be found. |
| D．The power of the new technique is proved by the discovery of the earth-like planet. |
More and more birds are flying to settle at Qinghai Lake, one of the highest inland lakes in China, thanks to the protection efforts of local governments. Covering an area of over 4,000 square kilometers, Qinghai Lake is also the country’s biggest salt-water lake.
Located in Northwest China’s Qinghai Province, the lake is famous for the two islands at its northwest point--Cormorant Island and Egg Island.
The two islands have plenty of floating grass and various schools of fish, offering rich food sources for birds. The islands have become a paradise for different kinds of groups of birds and have been called ‘Bird Islands’.
Each March and April, when ice and snow covering the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau starts to melt, over 20 kinds of birds fly to the Bird Islands to lay eggs.
During the months, flocks of birds cover the whole sky over the islands and birds eggs can be found everywhere. Visitors can hear the singing of birds from miles away. These have become a world famous symbol of the lake.
To protect this paradise for birds and support calls for ecological protection, China set up the Qinghai Lake Natural Protection Zone at the end of 1997. Meanwhile, the State has pointed out the Bird Islands and Spring Bay of the Qinghai Lake as central protection zones.
Inspection officials and management employees often patrol the lake, improving local residents’ knowledge of related laws and spreading knowledge about animal protection to visitors. They are making great efforts to call on people to love and protect the birds.
At the same time, they have built special fences around the island area, to prevent wolves, foxes and other carnivorous animals, as well as illegal hunters from breaking up the birds’ nest-building, egg-laying and breeding. As a result, more and more birds are coming to the islands for sheltering and breeding.Why are more and more birds coming to the biggest salt-water lake in the Great Northwest?
| A．Because it is getting warmer and warmer. |
| B．Because it is being reformed |
| C．Because environments there are getting more and more agreeable for them to live in. |
| D．Because the people there are becoming richer and richer |
The birds feed on _______according to the passage.
| A．floating fish and various grasses |
| B．grass moving on the water surface and different kinds of fish |
| C．salt water and plenty of grains |
| D．corn from the local farmers |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．The ice and snow covering the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau doesn’t change into water, unless more than 20 kinds of birds come to the Bird Islands |
| B．Flocks of birds fly up to the whole sky over islands to lay eggs |
| C．Visitors can listen to the singing of birds from miles away, but they couldn’t see any of the birds |
| D．“The ice on the Plateau begins to change into water” means spring is coming |
The officials go around the lake mainly to _________
| A．let the farmers there know the animal protection law |
| B．tell the farmers there some knowledge about animal protection. |
| C．call on people to love and protect the birds |
| D．all of the above |
Choosing to Study Overseas
Every year, thousands of students choose to study in another country for a semester, the summer, or a year. Studying overseas can be an exciting experience for many people.
Living in another country can help you to learn a language, and about another culture.
Overseas study may also look good on your future resume. Many companies today want employees who speak a second language, or have experienced living or working in another country.
Making the right choice
Once you decide to study overseas, you have to make some choices. To choose the right country or school. Ask yourself: Where do I want to go and why? How much do I want to pay? Do I want to live with a host family, with roommates, or alone?
Getting ready to go
Get your passport and visa early! Learn about the money. Bring some of it, and a credit card, with you.
Once you are there
After the first few weeks overseas, many students will feel a little homesick. They may miss their family, friends, and familiar ways of doing things. When you feel sad or homesick, try to talk to others, or write about your feelings in a notebook.
| A．You should improve your mother tongue before you go. |
| B．Why do it? |
| C．large number of students can’t afford to study overseas. |
| D．How long do I want to study overseas? |
E. Remember that it takes time to get used to a new place, school, and culture.
F. You will see the world in a new way, and learn more about yourself.
G. Before you go, learn some of the language, and read about some common customs in your host country.
The Diet Zone: A Dangerous Place
Diet Coke, diet Pepsi, diet pills, no-fat diet, vegetable diet… We are surrounded by the word “diet” everywhere we look and listen. We have so easily been attracted by the promise and potential of diet products that we have stopped thinking about what diet products are doing to us. We are paying for products that harm us psychologically and physically（身体上）.
Diet products significantly weaken us psychologically. On one level, we are not allowing our brain to admit that our weight problems lie not in actually losing the weight, but in controlling the consumption of fatty, high-calorie, unhealthy foods. Diet products allow us to jump over the thinking stage and go straight for the scale（秤）instead. All we have to do is to swallow or recognize the word “diet” in food labels.
On another level, diet products have greater psychological effects. Every time we have a zero-calorie drink, we are telling ourselves without our awareness that we don’t have to work to get results. Diet products make people believe that gain comes without pain, and that life can be without resistance and struggle.
The danger of diet products lies not only in the psychological effects they have on us, but also in the physical harm that they cause. Diet foods can indirectly harm our bodies because consuming them instead of healthy foods means we are preventing our bodies from having basic nutrients(营养成分). Diet foods and diet pills contain zero calorie only because the diet industry has created chemicals to produce these wonder products. Diet products may not be nutritional, and the chemical that go into diet products are potentially dangerous.
Now that we are aware of the effects that diet products have on us, it is time to seriously think about buying them. Losing weight lies in the power of minds, not in the power of chemicals. Once we realize this, we will be much better able to resist diet products, and therefore prevent the psychological harm that comes from using them.From Paragraph 1, we learn that ________.
| A．diet products fail to bring out people’s potential |
| B．people are fed up with diet products |
| C．people have difficulty in choosing diet products |
| D．diet products are misleading people |
One psychological effect of diet products is that people tend to _____.
| A．hesitate before they enjoy diet foods |
| B．pay attention to their own eating habits |
| C．watch their weight rather than their diet |
| D．try out a variety of diet foods |
In Paragraph 3, “gain comes without pain” probably means ______.
| A．losing weight is effortless |
| B．diet products bring no pain |
| C．it costs a lot to lose weight |
| D．diet products are free from calories |
Diet products indirectly harm people physically because such products ______.
| A．lack basic nutrients | B．are over-consumed |
| C．are short of chemicals | D．provide too much energy |
A rainforest is an area covered by tall trees with the total high rainfall spreading quite equally through the year and the temperature rarely dipping below 16℃.Rainforests have a great effect on the world environment because they can take in heat from the sun and adjust the climate.Without the forest cover，these areas would reflect more heat into the atmosphere，warming the rest of the world.Losing the rainforests may also influence wind and rainfall patterns，potentially causing certain natural disasters all over the world.
In the past hundred years，humans have begun destroying rainforests in search of three major resources(资源)：land for crops，wood for paper and other products，land for raising farm animals.This action affects the environment as a whole.For example，a lot of carbon dioxide(二氧化碳)in the air comes from burning the rainforests.People obviously have a need for the resources we gain from cutting trees but we will suffer much more than we will benefit.
There are two main reasons for this.Firstly，when people cut down trees，generally they can only use the land for a year or two.Secondly，cutting large sections of rainforests may provide a good supply of wood right now，but in the long run it actually reduces the world's wood supply.
Rainforests are often called the world's drug store.More than 25% of the medicines we use today come from plants in rainforests.However，fewer than 1%of rainforest plants have been examined for their medical value.It is extremely likely that our best chance to cure diseases lies somewhere in the world's shrinking rainforests.Rainforests can help to adjust the climate because they ______.
| A．reflect more heat into the atmosphere |
| B．reduce the effect of heat from the sun on the earth |
| C．bring about high rainfall throughout the world |
| D．rarely cause the temperature to drop lower than 16℃ |
What does the word“this”underlined in the third paragraph refer to?
| A．Humans have begun destroying rainforests. |
| B．People have a strong desire for resources. |
| C．We will lose much more than we can gain. |
| D．Much carbon dioxide comes from burning rainforests. |
It can be inferred from the text that ______.
| A．we can get enough resources without rainforests |
| B．we will grow fewer kinds of crops in the gained land |
| C．the level of annual rainfall affects wind patterns |
| D．there is great medicine potential in rainforests |
What might be the best title for the text?
| A．Rainforests and the Environment |
| B．How to Save Rainforests |
| C．How to Protect Nature |
| D．Rainforests and Medical Development |
Blameless
I was a freshman in college when I met the Whites. They were completely different from my own family, yet I felt at home with them immediately. Jane White and I became friends at school, and her family welcomed me like a long-lost cousin.
In my family, it was always important to place blame when anything bad happened.
“Who did this? ”my mother would scream about a dirty kitchen.
“This is all your fault, Katharine, ”my father would insist when the cat got out or the dishwasher broke.
From the time we were little, my sister, brothers and I told on each other. We set a place for blame at the dinner table.
But the Whites didn’t worry about who had done what. They picked up the pieces and moved on with their lives. The beauty of this was driven home to me the summer Jane died.
In July, the White sisters and I decided to take a car trip from their home in Florida to New York. The two older sisters, Sarah and Jane, were college students, and the youngest, Amy, had recently turned sixteen. Proud of having a new driver’s license（驾照），Amy was excited about practicing her driving on the trip. She showed off her license to everyone she met.
The big sisters shared the driving of Sarah’s new car during the first part of the trip, but when they reached less crowded areas, they let Amy take over. Somewhere in South Carolina, we pulled off the highway to eat. After lunch, Amy got behind the wheel. She came to a crossroads with a stop sign. Whether she was nervous or just didn’t see the sign no one would ever know, but Amy continued into the crossroads without stopping. The driver of a large truck, unable to stop in time, ran into our car.
Jane was killed immediately.
I was slightly injured. The most difficult thing that I’ve ever done was to call the Whites to tell them about the accident and that Jane had died. Painful as it was for me to lose a good friend, I knew that it was far worse for them to lose a child.
When Mr. and Mrs. White arrived at the hospital, they found their two daughters sharing a room. Sarah had a few cuts on the head; Amy’s leg was broken. They hugged（拥抱）us all and cried tears of sadness and of joy at seeing their daughters. They wiped away the girls’ tears and made a few jokes at Amy as she learned to use her crutches（拐杖）.
To both of their daughters, and especially to Amy, over and over they simply said, “We’re so glad that you’re alive. ”
I was astonished. No blame. No accusations.
Later, I asked the Whites why they never talked about the fact that Amy was driving and had run a stop sign.
Mrs. White said, “Jane’s gone, and we miss her terribly. Nothing we say or do will ever bring her back. But Amy has her whole life ahead of her. How can she lead a full and happy life if she feels we blame her for her sister’s death? ”
They were right. Amy graduated from the University of California and got married several years ago. She works as a teacher of learning-disabled students. She’s also a mother of two little girls of her own, the oldest named Jane. How did the accident occur?
| A．Amy didn’t know what to do when she saw the stop sign. |
| B．Amy didn’t slow down so their car ran into a truck. |
| C．Amy didn’t stop at a crossroads and a truck hit their car. |
| D．Amy didn’t get off the highway at a crossroads. |
The Whites did not blame Amy for Jane’s death because _____.
| A．Amy was badly injured herself and they didn’t want to add to her pain |
| B．they didn’t want to blame their children in front of others |
| C．they didn’t want Amy to feel ashamed and sorry for the rest of her life |
| D．Amy was their youngest daughter and they loved her best |
From the passage we can learn that _____.
| A．Amy has lived quite a normal life |
| B．Amy has never recovered from the shock |
| C．Amy changed her job after the accident |
| D．Amy lost her memory after the accident |
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