Even the closest star to us, Proxima Centauri, is very far away.

Scientists would love to get a closer look at this star and its planets. But the fastest spaceship ever built would take nearly 75,000 years to get there. That's just too long!

Scientists have come up with a plan-send a group of very tiny spaceships. Why tiny? The smaller something is, the easier it is to make it go fast. They're hoping a group of stamp-sized ships(Star Chips)could travel fast enough to reach Proxima Centauri in just 20 years. There they could take pictures and collect information. If there is any life there, the Star Chips might be able to find it-and say hello from Earth.

Each Star Chip will carry a tiny camera, thrusters, and sensors. It will ride a sail about the size of a picnic table. The plan is to send many, in case some don't make it.

Scientists hope that their tiny Star Chips will be able to reach a speed of 134 million miles(216 million km)an hour. First, the rocket will take the Star Chips to space. Once in space, they will open their shining sails. Then, people on Earth will shoot out lasers at the sails. All those lasers shot at the sails will push the Star Chips so fast that they will reach the moon in just two minutes.

The computer chip at the heart of each Star Chip is tiny like the ones in mobile phones. None of the other technologies has been built yet. The hardest part will be the lasers, which have to be extremely powerful. The team will also need to invent a light, strong, and very shiny material for the sails, and tiny cameras powerful enough to take pictures of planets. And they'll have to find a way to send those pictures back to Earth. There's a lot of work ahead. But if they succeed, the heart of a mobile phone may be the very first interstellar traveler.

1.Scientists plan to invent the Star Chip mainly because it .

A.could send messages to other planets B.could take photos and collect information

C.could find life in other stars and planets D.could be small enough to travel much faster

2.Powerful lasers will be shot at Star Chips to .

A.make sure Star Chips won't be hit in space B.send Star Chips to space from Earth safely

C.open the strong and shining sails of Star Chips D.give Star Chips enough energy to travel in space

3.What technologies about Star Chips are still waiting to be built?

①The way to send pictures back to Earth.

②The strong and shiny material for the sails.

③The tiny cameras able to take photos of planets.

④The chip as small as the ones in mobile phones.

A.①②③ B.②③④

C.①②④ D.①③④

4.What is the best title of the passage?

A.A Chip with Great Power B.A New Coming Spaceship

C.A Big Problem about Star Chips D.A Great Trip to Proxima Centauri

The winter holiday is coming. What are the students going to do during the winter holiday? We did a survey and this is what we learned.

All students like the winter holiday because there is an important festival﹣the Spring Festival. During the Spring Festival, they are going to visit their friends and relatives. During the winter holiday most students say they are going to finish their homework first. After finishing homework,they can have a good time. They're going to buy some new clothes and good food. Most students are going to watch TV with their families. Some are going to play computer games with their friends.Li Lei is going to travel with his parents.They are going to Hainan Island because it's warm in winter. Huang Jing is going to the countryside to see her grandparents with her parents. Yang Fan is going to take guitar lessons. He loves to play the guitar. Lin Juan is going to play ping﹣pong every day in the winter holiday. She wants to have a healthy body.

I hope all of them can enjoy themselves during the holiday.

1.What does the underlined(划线的)word "relative" in this passage mean?

A.亲戚 B.旅客 C.乘客

2.What aren't the students going to do during the winter holiday from the passage?

A.They are going to finish their homework.

B.They're going to buy some new clothes and good food.

C.They are going hiking in the mountains.

3.Who is going to travel in Hainan Island?   

A.Yang Fan B.Li Lei C.Lin Juan

4.From the passage, we know__________.

A.Yang Fan is going to play ping-pong to have a healthy body.

B.the passage is about the Spring Festival.

C.the passage is about the students’ activities during the winter holiday.

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