In the science film Sunshine, an astronaut named Mace must leave his spacecraft without a protective suit for 15 seconds. He makes it through with the damage(损害) as a result of being very cold. Have you ever wondered what might happen to your body in space without a spacesuit?

On Earth, our atmosphere (air) protects us from the sun’s harmful UV rays, controls temperatures and also keeps a nice atmosphere pressure. The vacuum (真空) of space, however, is full of dangers.

One of the serious dangers Mace might face in outer space is ebullism (体液沸腾). The pressure in the vacuum of space is so low that the boiling point of the fluids (液体) in your body drops below the body’s normal temperature (37℃), which results in the formation of gas bubbles in your fluids that can really make you feel aching.

Another serious danger is the lack of oxygen. After around 15 seconds, your body would have used up all pf the oxygen in your body and you’d lose consciousness (意识). Some of you may be thinking “But I can hold my breath for minutes!?” The situation in space is a little different than here on Earth because of the lack of outside pressure, and if you held your breath in space without a suit you’d be in a big trouble. This is because any remaining air would rapidly enlarge, breaking the lungs.

After losing consciousness, you’ll probably last a couple of minutes at most before you die. Of course, there’s all that awful UV from the Sun which is going to give you serious sun burn, likely leading to cancer.

Is little damage for coldness a reasonable result of Sunshine’s suit less spacewalk? Actually it’s extremely cold in space, but astronauts wouldn’t immediately freeze because heat leaves the body very slowly in a vacuum. Therefore, the cold wouldn’t cause Mace too much harm in just 15 seconds, even if he faced the very lowest temperatures in space. The more likely damage would be caused from the enlargement and breaking of the skin’s small blood vessels (血管).

Anyway, obviously it’s never a good idea to go into space without some kind of protection. But don’t lose hope because you are probably saved with timely help before you die, so keep up!

1.Where can we read the passage?

A.In a magazine. B.In a diary.

C.In a movie poster. D.In a how-to book.

2.What does the writer think of the air or the vacuum?

A.The vacuum helps astronauts walking and Waving in space.

B.The air supplies living protection and temperature control.

C.The air brings people serious problems sometimes on Earth.

D.The pressure of vacuum in space increases the boiling point.

3.What is the purpose of writing this passage?

A.To encourage readers to watch the film Sunshine.

B.To show the readers many serious air problems.

C.To discuss the causes of cancer from the sunburn.

D.To explain the unreasonable damage in the film.

4.What is the best title of the passage?

A.Keep Alive in Space B.Walking Freely in Space

C.Without a Spacesuit D.Coldness Damage in Space

A young man worked very hard at his lessons. He was too busy to have a rest. At last, he became ill---he couldn’t go to sleep . Every night, when night, when he went to bed, he closed his eyes and tired to sleep. But he always stayed awake and couldn’t fall asleep.

After some days, he decided to see a doctor, “I just can’t go to sleep at night. What should I do ? Could you please help me?”

“I have a suggestion(建议),”said the doctor. “Try counting numbers. By the time you reach one thousand, you’ll be asleep. I’m sure of it.”

The next day the man returned to the doctor’s office. “Well,”said the doctor, “How are you today? Did you try my suggestion?”

The man still looked tired . “Yes,” he said , “I tired counting one, two, three--- up to one thousand. But when I reached five hundred and sixty-nine, I began to feel sleepy. I had to get up and drink some tea so that I could go on counting up to one thousand . But then I still couldn’t fall asleep.”

1.The young man couldn’t go to sleep because________.

A.he was worried about his work. B.he worked too hard and became ill.

C.he didn’t finish doing his lessons. D.There was a lot of noise and he couldn’t have a rest.

2.The doctor asked the young man________.

A.to put all numbers from 1 to 1,000 together B.to take some medicine and go to bed earlier.

C.to count numbers while he was lying in bed. D.to count numbers before he went to bed.

3.The young man________.

A.counted from 569 to 1,000 B.counted from 1 to 1,000 and fell asleep

C.counted from 1 to 569 and got up to drink some tea D.Counted from 1 to 569 and fell asleep

THIS year the US Mint will honor one of the country’s most famous writers.

“Mark Twain”,the pen name of Samuel Clemens(1835-1911) is loved by American readers for his novels Tom Sawyer(1876) and The Adventures of Huckberry Finn(1844).

Now he is going to have his life and work commemorated(纪念) with special gold and silver coins.

But does Twain need to be commemorated? It doesn’t seem like people in the US will forget him. Twain once joked that a lack(缺少)of money is the root of all evil(邪恶)” but a lack of money with Twain’s famous face on it wouldn’t have made people forget about him.

The Adventures of Huckberry Finn is thought to be his greatest works.

Motherless Huck Finn is a young boy who shows the spirit of freedom. But it could be said that Huck’s freedom really comes from Huck wanting to fly. When Huck gets away from his violent(暴力的) father,he isn’t really looking for freedom,but survival.

It’s even more of a problem for a slave. Jim,the escaped(逃跑的) slave who Huck helps, makes Huck’s life seem even better. It’s easier not to be able to deal with someone who wants to force you to go to school than to have to fight a law that says you are a piece of property(财产).

Huck and Jim’s friendship,as shown by Mark Twain,is one of the great stories in American literature because it shows a white character,Huck,who gets an idea of the African American experience.

Mark Twain is famous and would still be famous without any special coins. Anyway,the coins could be a reason to look again at the work of a writer who got under the skin of the US in the 19th century.

With the race issue(种族问题) far from dead in the US today,perhaps Twain still has something to teach today’s readers.

1.How many novels is mentioned written by Mark Twain in this passage?

A.One B.Two C.Three D.Four

2.Why is The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn considered Twain’s greatest works?

A.It talks about how a black slave runs away from his violent owner.

B.It describes an everlasting friendship between people of different races.

C.It describes the social problem that a lack of money is the root of all evil.

D.It talks about a white American understanding the African American experience.

3.According to the passage, which statement is NOT true?

A.Huck gets away from his father for survival.

B.Jim escapes from his slave owner for freedom.

C.Twain dug deeply into American society of his times.

D.Without the special coins, he’ll probably be forgotten.

4.The underlined phrase “far from dead” probably means _______.

A.still being there. B.Becoming more serious.

C.Being in danger. D.Gone for a long time.

5.What’s the main purpose of the article?

A.To tell the story of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

B.To tell readers about the special coins created to honor Mark Twain.

C.To explore why the US still remembers and honors Mark Twain.

D.To draw readers’ attention to the many race issues in the US today.

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