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Astronomers (天文学家) say they are on the point of finding planets like Earth orbiting other stars, which is a key step in determining if we are alone in the universe.
A top NASA official and other leading scientists say that within four or five years they should discover the first Earth-like planet where life could develop, or may have already. A planet close to the size of Earth could even be found sometime this year.
At the annual American Astronomical Society conference this week, each discovery involving  so-called “exoplanets” —those outside our solar system —pointed to the same conclusion:Quiet planets like Earth where life could develop probably are plentiful.
NASA’s Dew Kepler telescope and a lot of new research from the suddenly hot and competitive exoplanet field caused noticeable buzz at the meeting.Scientists are talking about being at “an incredible special place in history” and closer to answering the question. “Are we alone? For the first time, there’s an optimism that sometime in our lifetimes we’re going to get to the bottom of that,” said Simon Worden,an astronomer who heads NASA’s Ames Research Center. “If I were a betting man, which I am, I would bet we’re not alone.”
“These are big questions that reflect upon the meaning of the human race in the universe,” the director of the Vatican Observatory, the Rev. Jose Funes, said Wednesday in an interview at this week’s conference.
Worden told The Associated Press: “I would certainly expect in the next four or five years we’d have an Earth-sized planet in the habitable (可居住的) zone.”
What is very important in determining if we are alone in the universe?
A. Finding an Earth-like planet.       B. Orbiting other stars.
C. Developing new telescopes.      D. Finding more exoplanets.
What’s an exoplanet?
A. It’s a planet like Earth.        B. It’s a planet outside our solar system.
C. It’s a planet orbiting the sun.   D. It’s a planet where life have developed.
The underlined phrase “get to the bottom of” probably means “__________”.
A. understand fully   B. make full use of
C. search for         D. do more research on   
From the passage we can learn that __________.
A. an Earth-like planet has been found
B. it’s been proved we are not alone in the universe
C. Jose Funes has found the meaning of the human race in the universe
D. the discovery of an Earth-like planet could happen in the near future
答案

小题1:A
小题2:B
小题3:A
小题4:D
解析

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试题【Astronomers (天文学家) say they are on the point of finding planets like Earth orbit】;主要考察你对题材分类等知识点的理解。[详细]
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A robot is a computer-controlled machine that is programmed to move and handle objects. Robots are able to perform repetitive tasks more quickly, cheaply, and accurately (精确的) than humans. In 1995, about 700,000 robots were used-including over 500,000 in Japan, about 120,000 in Western Europe, and about 60,000 in the United States-all in the industrialized world. Many robots applications are designed for tasks that are either dangerous or unpleasant for human beings. Now, robotic technology can be used in more and more fields. Experts say in the future robots will be able to make new highways, constructsteel frameworks of buildings, clean sewage (污水系统), and such physical work. Besides, another possibility is the development of robotic technology in medical surgery operations.
Perhaps the greatest changes in future robots will improve from their increasing ability to reason. The field of artificial intelligence is moving rapidly from university labs to practical application in industry, and machines of a new kind of robots are being developed, which can perform something involved in the process of understanding and planning, such as the management of a battlefield. Even the control of a large factory will be performed by intelligent computers. And there might be a possibility that these computers can design and make robots of their own.
Is there anything dangerous involved in this artificial intelligence progress then? Robot technology has been making people nervous ever since it was invented. Is it unreasonable to worry that robots will someday become too clever? Is it impossible that these human-like robots will start to think and plan for themselves? Will robots take over the world and force humans to give them energy to survive?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
小题1: In 1995, about 700,000 robots were working in _____________.
A.JapanB.the United StatesC.Western EuropeD.the industrialized world
小题2:Which of the following do experts say robots won’t be able to do in the future?  
A.Take care of roads.B.Be used as medicine.
C.Used as underground pipeline cleaner.D.Take up jobs of building construction.
小题3:What does the underlined word “which” in Paragraph 2 refer to? 
A.Greatest changes in future robots.B.The field of artificial intelligence.
C.Machines of a new kind of robots.D.Practical application in industry.
小题4:What can we know from the 2nd paragraph?
A.It is possible that robots will be able to think like human beings.
B.It is sure that robots might be able to manage battlefields.
C.There is no doubt that computers can design and make robots of their own.
D.It is proved that computers can’t reason like human beings.
小题5:Which of the following makes people worried most?
A.Future robotic technology might cause dangers.
B.Future robotic technology might make people too clever.
C.Future robotic technology might help to do all dangerous jobs.
D.Future robotic technology might not survive because of its shortage of energy.

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D
Last week Jay McCarroll and The HSUS(The Humane Society of the United States)  made a bold fur-free statement on the runway, marking a new chapter for the fashion industry and animal protection. The encouraging response to McCarroll’s show confirmed that change is happening in fashion.
McCarroll has good reasons for rejecting fur. Each year, tens of millions of animals, including dogs and cats, needlessly suffer and die to fuel the fur industry. But what did Jay McCarroll use in place of fur? “I have patchwork pieces that contain all sorts of combinations of fabrics. The rest is cotton, nylon, polyester . . . you name it. I even have some stuff made out of bamboo/cotton blend. Anything but fur and leather, ”he told Fashion Wire Daily.
“So many people want to protect animals and live their lives without causing unnecessary cruelty. More than two thirds of Americans have pets, and we share a bond with animals every day. Saying no to fur can help millions of animals, and we want to show our respect to leading designers like Jay who embrace compassion as the fashion, ”said Michael Markarian, executive vice president of The HSUS. “It is great to see leaders in the fashion industry recognizing that the animals need their fur more than we do.”
63.Which of the following is true about Jay McCarroll?
A. He is a famous fashion designer.
B. He is the executive vice president of the HSUS.
C. He is an editor of Fashion Wire Daily.
D. He is the head of all animal protection organization.
64.What does “a new chapter” in line two, paragraph one mean?
A. A new unit of a book.                                                 B. The beginning of a new trend.
C. The latest issue of a magazine.                       D. A newly established organization.
65.Which of the following is NOT recommended for clothing by Jay McCarroll?
A. Polyester.                       B. Bamboo.                         C. Leather.                 D. Patchwork pieces.
66.What do we learn from this passage?
A. Human beings depend emotionally on animals.
B. Fashion can go hand in hand with compassion for life.
C. Fur is more effective than bamboo/cotton blend for clothing.
D. Fur is more expensive than other materials for fashion designers.
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E
Twenty years ago, most experts believed that differences in how boys and girls behaved were mainly due to differences in how they were treated by their parents, teachers, and friends. It’s hard to cling to that belief today. Recent research has shown that there are biological differences between boys and girls. Understanding these differences is important in raising and educating children.
For example, girls are born with more sensitive hearing than boys, and the difference increases as kids grow up. So when a grown man speaks to a girl in what he thinks is a normal voice, she may hear it as yelling. Conversely (反过来), boys who appear to be inattentive in class may just be sitting too far away too hear the teacher.
Likewise, girls are better in their expression of feelings. Studies reveal that negative emotions are seated in an area of the brain called the amygdala. Girls develop all early connection between this area and the cerebral cortex (大脑皮层), enabling them to talk about their feelings. In boys these links develop later. So if you ask a troubled adolescent boy to tell you what his feelings are, he often cannot say much.
Dr. Sax, an advocate of single-sex education, points out that keeping boys and girls separate in the classroom has yielded striking educational, social, and interpersonal benefits. Therefore, parents and teachers should try to recognize, understand, and make use of the biological differences that make a girl a girl, and a boy a boy.
67.What is the main idea of the passage?
A. Boys tend to pay less attention in class than girls.
B. Girls are better than boys in their ability to detect sounds.
C. Boys and girls behave differently because of biological differences.
D. Single-sex schools are not good because they keep boys and girls separate.
68.Why do girls express negative feelings better than boys?
A. Girls are more emotional than boys.
B. Girls have more brain cells than boys.
C. The amygdala is located in different areas of the brain for boys and girls.
D. The links between certain parts of the brain develop earlier in girls than in boys.
69.Which of the following does the author believe?
A. Girls need more training in communication.
B. Boys and girls should be educated in different ways.
C. Parents should pay more attention to boys.
D. Sex differences should be ignored in education。
70.What does the phase “cling to” in the first paragraph mean?
A. maintain               B. abandon                         C. evaluate          D. challenge
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D
  Beyond two or three days,the world’s best weather forecasts are doubtful, and beyond six or seven they are worthless.
  The Butterfly Effect is the reason. For small pieces of weather—to a global forecaster,small can mean thunder—storms and blizzards(暴风雪)—any prediction becomes worse rapidly. Errors and uncertainties increase,from dust devils and storms up to continent-size eddies(旋涡)that only satellites can see.
  The modern weather models work with net-like points sixty miles apart,and even so,some starting data have to be guessed,since ground stations and satellites cannot see everywhere. But suppose the earth could be covered with sensors placed one foot apart,rising at one-foot intervals all the way to the top of the atmosphere. Suppose every sensor gives perfectly accurate readings of temperature,pressure,humidity(温度), and any other data a weatherman would want. Exactly at noon a powerful computer takes all the data and calculates what will happen at each point at 12.01, then 12.02,then 12.03…the computer will still be unable to predict whether Princeton will have sun or rain one month away. At noon the spaces between the sensors will hide fluctuations(波动)that the computer will not know about. By 12.01,those fluctuations will already have created small errors one foot away. Soon the errors will have added to the ten-foot scale,and so on up to the size of the globe.
63.A weather forecast ____________ in the world.
A.is reliable within one or two days
B.is doubtful beyond 24 hours
C.becomes useless beyond two or three days
D.is still worthwhile in seven days
64.Usually there is a weather sub-station____________.
A.in every city           B.every 60 miles
C.between two cities         D.every one foot
65.Which of the following statements is true?
A.People have not placed sensors one foot apart in the atmosphere.
B.Scientists have already put sensors one foot apart in the world.
C.Every sensor gives perfectly accurate data a weatherman wants.
D.Ground weather stations and satellites can see every place on earth.
66.Our computer will not be able to know about fluctuations because ____________.
A.the sensors are not good enough
B.they are hidden by the spaces between the sensors
C.they are too far away
D.they move very fast
题型:不详难度:| 查看答案
The quality of drinking water in Shanghai will meet European Union standard by 2010 and, a decade later, citizens in Shanghai will drink the best water in the world.
These were the goals set out by the Shanghai Water Authority. With the city’s population expected to increase only slightly and the economy to boom by 2020, Chen Yin, and official with the water authority, said Shanghai’s water consumption will not increase from its present amount.
Zhang Yue, director of the Urban Construction Division under the Ministry of Construction, said, “Shanghai is the first city in the country to publicize these ambitions. They will not be easy to achieve.”
He said water saving will help keep the sustainable development of China’s economy.
Saving one cubic meter of water means saving the city’s infrastructure(基础设施)costs by 10,000 Yuan. Last year, Shanghai saved 300 million cubic meters of water either from readjustment of industrial structure or the employment of new technology.
“The aim is to arouse public awareness of the seriousness of water shortages,” Chen said. “The abundant surface water and amount of rain of the city are so misleading that they result in improper use of water.”
Shanghai lacks drinkable water. The Huangpu River, which supplies 80 percent of the city’s drinkable water, is nearing exhaustion.
The city, therefore, has been exploring new sources from the Yangtze River and growing forests along it to conserve quality water.
Besides penning regulations, the authority is popularizing technology among the public to efficiently cut the amount of water used.
At present, the city has 600,000 family toilets, each using 13 liters of water per flush. These are to be renovated(整修)to use only 9 liters of water per flush.
The authority is renovating the first 200 toilets for households – at a cost of 40 Yuan each.
In three years, all the toilets will be renovated, which saves the city nearly 15 million Yuan every year in water conservation.
Another task the city is engaged in is the treatment of sewage(污水)to improve the water environment.
At present the city can only treat 44 percent of its daily 5.04 million tons of waste water. To meet the total demand, 27 more sewage treatment factories are to be established with an estimated investment of 18 billion Yuan.
41.People in Shanghai get their daily water mainly from _______now.
A.the underground                          B.the rain     
C.the Yangtze River                         D.the Huangpu River
42.According to the passage, some people have the wrong opinion of using water
because      .
A.the renovating of family toilets will save plenty of water
B.about half of waste water has been treated already
C.advanced technology makes people use water as much as possible
D.there is plenty surface water and large amount of rain at present
43.The authority is renovating the first 200 toilets for households to          .
A.make people’s living more convenient     
B.improve people’s living standards
C.ease employment pressure      
D.meet the total demand of water
44.Which group of measures are all mentioned in the passage to save water?
a.improve drinking water quality
b.change some industrial structure
c.introduce or use some new technology    
d.speed the economic development of Shanghai
e.renovate some family toilets    
f.build more sewage treatment factories
A.a, b, c, d                       B.b, c, e, f                       
C.b, c, d, e              D.a, b, e, f
45.We can infer from the passage that          .
A.the boom of economy will need a larger amount of water in the future
B.citizens today in Shanghai drink the best quality of water in the world
C.not everyone today in Shanghai is aware of water shortage
D.all the family toilets will be renovated to save water within 3 years
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