Rubber Fish

My friend and I were sitting on our beach chairs while watching our girls playing in the surf on that summer morning. About 50 yards from us, a man--- maybe in his late 50s—was fishing with big poles(鱼竿).

After running for a while, the girls reached him and watched him. He smiled at them. They ran back to us—all except my three-year-old Alice. Instead, she sat down next to the man.

“Alice! Come here! Play with your friends!” I said, very worried that my speeches about not talking to strangers weren’t working. Hearing me, Alice ran over to me. Then she looked me in the eye, “I want to be with the man.” She ran back, sat down next to him again, and started digging.

Every few seconds I watched back to Alice to make sure she was safe. Just a man fishing. A little girl sitting.

In the second, Alice had started talking. Her mouth was moving. She was probably telling the man where we lived and how her father was away on business and how her mother sometimes let her ride bikes with her brother in the driveway alone. He nodded, then laughed.

A few seconds later, she ran back to us, waving something very shiny and slimy. “Look, Mommy! A toy fish!” It was a yellow rubber toy fish, which must have been what he was using for bait(鱼饵). And he’d given it to Alice. The three other girls all reached for the fish. Alice looked at me for help, then at the man, then back to me.

“My friend gave me that fish!” She said. Tears were fast falling. Just as I didn’t know how to solve the problem, suddenly, there he was: the man, standing right next to us. He was holding three more rubber fish. He handed them to each of the girls.“ Thank you,” the girls said, with their face shining like the sun. There is evil(罪恶)...but there is also the lesson for mothers to learn that only three-year-old could teach them. The man waved at us and walked back to his poles.

1.The writer began to feel worried when______.

A.Alice accepted a gift B.Alice sat near the man

C.the girls played in the surf D.the girls watched the man fishing

2.What does Alice think of the man?

A.He is her friend. B.He is interesting.

C.He is her mother’s friend. D.He is a bad man.

3.From the passage, we can infer(推断)that the writer often______.

A.watches others fish B.meets some strange things

C.goes to the beach with her kids D.tells her kids not to talk to strangers

Choose the best answer(根据短文内容,选择最恰当的答案)

Unless we spend money to spot(认出,发现) and prevent asteroids(小行星)now, one might crash into Earth and destroy life as we know it, say some scientists.

Asteroids are bigger versions of the meteoroids(流星体) that race across the night sky. Most orbit the sun far from Earth and don’t threaten us. But there are also thousands of asteroids whose orbits put them on a collision course with Earth.

Buy $500 million worth of new telescopes right now, they spend $10 million a year for the next 25 years to locate most of the space rocks. By the time we spot a fatal one, the scientists say, we’ll have a way to change its course.

Is it worth it? Two things experts consider when judging any risk are: (1) How likely the event is; (2) How bad the consequences if the event occurs. Experts think an asteroid big enough to destroy lots of life might strike Earth once every 500,000 years. Sounds pretty rare but if one did fall. It would be the end of the world. “If we don’t take care of these big asteroids, they’ll take care of us,” says one scientist. “It’s that simple. ”

The cure, though, might be worse than the disease. Do we really want fleets(队,车队) of nuclear weapons sitting around on Earth? “The world has less fear from doomsday rocks than from a great nuclear fleet set against them.” said a New York Times article.

1.What does the passage say about asteroids and meteoroids?

A.They are heavenly bodies different in composition. B.They are heavenly bodies similar in nature.

C.There are more asteroids than meteoroids. D.Asteroids are more mysterious than meteoroids.

2.What do scientists say about the collision, of an asteroid with Earth?

A.It is very unlikely but the danger exists.

B.Such a collision might occur once every 25 years.

C.Collisions of smaller asteroids with Earth occur more often than expected.

D.It’s still too early to say whether such a collision might occur.

3.What do people think of the suggestion of using nuclear weapons to alter the course of asteroids?

A.It sounds practical but it may not solve the problem.

B.It may create more problems than it might solve.

C.It is a waste of money because a collision of asteroids with Earth is very unlikely.

D.Further research should be done before it is proved applicable.

4.We can conclude from the passage that

A.while pushing asteroids off course nuclear weapons would destroy the world.

B.asteroids racing across the night sky are likely to hit Earth in the near future.

C.the worry about asteroids can be left to future generations since it is unlikely to happen in our lifetime.

D.workable solutions still have to be found to prevent a collision of asteroids with Earth.

5.Which of the following best describes the author’s tone in this passage?

A.Optimistic. B.Critical. C.Objective. D.Arbitrary(武断的)

6.The best title for the passage is __________.

A.How will the world end? B.Asteroids and meteoroids in the sky.

C.Nuclear weapons on Earth. D.What if asteroids crash into Earth?

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