An annoying problem for humans, who like to boast (夸耀) about all the distant planets and moons we have explored, is that we've never taken a good look right under our noses.The inside of the earth is relatively close but how can we get there?

The deepest oil well enters a mere six miles into the crust (地壳)  (the center of the earth is about 4,000 miles deeper).Russian scientists dug the deepest hole in Siberia," but bottomed out at about 7.5 miles below the surface.The Mohole project, a U.S.plan in the 1950s, called for drilling a hole 25 miles down to the boundary be??tween the hard rocks of the crust and the soft mantle (地幔).Sadly the project involved govern??ment supporting.

It gets harder and harder to drill deep into the earth because rocks get softer and softer. Hard but easily broken at the surface, rocks become plastic at depth, and the pressure caused by the weight of the overlaying crust — about 52,800 pounds per square inch at a depth of ten miles, makes further drilling impossible.

What little we know about the inside of the earth (like the fact that there' s a crust, a mantle, and a core) comes from indirect evidence, such as the analysis of earthquakes.

So maybe it' s time for a thorough new method to explore the earth's inside.Scientist David Stevenson says we should forget about drilling holes.Instead, we should open a crack (裂缝). 

Stevenson suggests digging a crack about a half mile long, a yard wide, and a half mile deep (not with a shovel) but with an explosion on the scale of a nuclear bomb.Next, he'd pour a few hundred thousand tons of molten (融化的) iron into the crack, along with a robot.The iron, thicker than the surrounding crust, would move downward at about 16 feet per second, carrying the robot with it and opening the crack deeper and deeper.The iron mass would drop for about a week and 2,000 miles to the outer edge of the earth core, the robot sending out data to the sur??face.

Stevenson compares his idea to space explo??ration."We're going somewhere we haven't been before," he says."In all possibility, there will be surprises."

This idea can probably be put in.the drawer marked with Isn't Going To Happen.The robot would have to survive temperatures that would melt pretty much anything.But Stevenson's idea may inspire a new look at an old problem.Great things can come from what seems like impossible ideas.

Going inside the earth is ________ than going into space.

A.more interesting B.more possible    C.easier            D.more challenging

How deep have we gone into the earth until now?

A.6 miles.         B.4,000 miles. C.7.5 miles.        D.25 miles.

Which of the following is TRUE about David Stevenson's idea?

A.It is an inspiring but not practical idea now.

B.It is a practical proposal that has come into use now.

C.It is a good proposal that will soon be put into practice.

D.It is a false theory that cannot be carried out at all.

What might be the most suitable title for the text?

A.An Annoying Problem for Humans

B.To the Center of the Earth

C.The Mohole Project

D.David Stevenson' s Proposal

阅读下面短文,从短文后所给各题的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

When I was in middle school, I was one of the smaller players on the basketball team. In our first game of the season, we were   31   to face a good team, all of whom were tall guys. Naturally, at my   32  , it would have been easy to be   33   by our competitors.

  On game day, my basketball coach called me over to him. He was a strong and tough coach, and in his   34   rough manner said, “Joel, you’re not that   35  , but let me tell you that size doesn’t matter. Don’t be afraid. What   36   is right down in here.” He pointed his finger at his   37   as he continued, “Joel, you’ve got a big heart, and you’re to   38   it this year.”

    When I heard the coach’s   39   , I stood taller than usual! I thought to myself: The coach believes in me! My confidence   40   and I played better that year than I’d ever done before.

It’s   41   what we can achieve when we know somebody really believes in us. That coach took a little time to make a big   42   . He took time to make me confident in myself. If we’re going to   43   the best in people, we need to sow seeds of   44   .

    As the saying goes, “Love looks for a way of being constructive.”   45   , love looks for ways to help improve somebody else’s life.

    When people are   46   us, they should leave better off than they were before. People should feel   47   and inspired after spending any time with you and me   48   feeling discouraged or defeated.

    Remember, there’s   49   greater investment(投资)in life than in being a people builder. Relationships   50   much more to us than our achievements.

A. requested

B. arranged

C. determined

D. accepted

A. age

B. size

C. weight

D. experience

A. injured

B. destroyed

C. frightened

D. cheated

A. common

B. normal  

C. formal

D. usual

A. big

B. young   

C. tall

D. strong

A. matters

B. promises

C. attracts

D. matches

A. back

B. shoulder

C. head

D. chest

A. pass

B. get

C. make

D. help

A. stories

B. words

C. advice

D. praise

A. built up

B. made up

C. took up

D. turned up

A. interesting

B. amazing

C. confusing

D. convincing

A. sense

B. result

C. difference

D. surprise

A. speak of

B. bring out

C. put up

D. stand out

A. hope

B. success

C. fortune

D. excitement

A. Above all

B. On the contrary

C. In other words

D. In this case

A. around

B. against 

C. above

D. below

A. delighted

B. challenged

C. moved

D. respected

A. as well as

B. rather than

C. in addition to

D. except for

A. some

B. still

C. no

D. none

A. influence

B. leave

C. produce

D. mean

You are near the front line of a battle. Around you shells are exploding; people are shooting from a house behind you. What are you doing there? You aren’t a soldier. You aren’t ___36___ carrying a gun. You’re standing in front of a ___37___ and you’re telling the TV ___38___ what is happening.

It’s all in a day’s work for a war reporter, and it can be very ___39___. In the first two years of the ___40___ in former Yugoslavia(前南斯拉夫), 28 reporters and photographers were killed. Hundreds more were ___41___. What kind of people put themselves in danger to ___42___ pictures to our TV screens and ___43___ to our newspapers? Why do they do it?

“I think it’s every young journalist’s ___44___ to be a foreign reporter,” says Michael Nicholson, “that’s ___45___ you find the excitement. So when the first opportunity comes, you take it ___46___ it is a war.”

But there are moments of ___47___. Jeremy Bowen says, “Yes, when you’re lying on the ground and bullet(子弹) are flying ___48___ your ears, you think: ‘What am I doing here? I’m not going to do this again.’ But that feeling ___49___ after a while and when the next war starts, you’ll be ___50___.”

“None of us believes that we’re going to ___51___,” adds Michael. But he always ___52___ a lucky charm(护身符) with him. It was given to him by his wife for his first war. It’s a card which says “Take care of yourself.” Does he ever think about dying? “Oh, ___53___, and every time it happens you look to the sky and say to God, ‘If you get me out of this, I ___54___ I’ll never do it again.’ You can almost hear God ___55___, because you know he doesn’t believe you.”

36. A. simply  B. really  C. merely       D. even

37. A. crowd  B. house  C. battlefield   D. camera

38. A. producers    B. viewers      C. directors     D. actors

39. A. dangerous    B. exciting      C. normal       D. disappointing

40. A. stay      B. fight   C. war     D. life

41. A. injured B. buried C. defeated     D. saved

42. A. bring    B. show   C. take    D. make

43. A. scenes  B. passages     C. stories D. contents

44. A. belief   B. dream C. duty    D. faith

45. A. why     B. what   C. how    D. where

46. A. even so B. ever since   C. as if    D. even if

47. A. fear      B. surprise      C. shame D. sadness

48. A. into      B. around       C. past    D. through

49. A. returns B. goes    C. continues    D. occurs

50. A. there    B. away   C. out     D. home

51. A. leave    B. escape C. die      D. remain

52. A. hangs   B. wears  C. holds  D. carries

53. A. never   B. many times C. some time  D. seldom

54. A. consider      B. accept C. promise      D. guess

55. A. whispering   B. laughing     C. screaming   D. crying

My parents were in a huge argument, and 1 was really upset about it. I didn't know who I should talk with about how I was feeling. So I asked Mom to allow me to stay the night at my best friend's house. Though I knew I wouldn't tell her about my parents’ situation, I was looking forward to gelling out of the house. I was in the middle of packing up my things when suddenly the power went out in the neighborhood. Mom came to tell me that I should stay with my grandpa until the power came back on.

I was really disappointed because I felt that we did not have much to talk about. But I knew he would be frightened alone in the dark. I went to his room and told him that I'd stay with him until the power was restored. He was quite happy and said, "Great opportunity."

"What is?" I asked.

"To talk, you and I" he said. "To hold a private little meeting about what we’re going to do with your mom and dad, and what we're going to do with ourselves now that we're in the situation we are in."

"But we can't do anything about it. Grandpa," I said, surprised that here was someone with whom I could share my feelings and someone who was in the same "boat" as I was.

And that's how the most unbelievable friendship between my grandfather and me started. Sitting Acre in the dark, we talked about our feelings and fears of life — from how fast things change, to how they sometimes don't change fast enough. That night, because the power went out, I found a new friend, with whom I could safely talk about all my fears and pains, whatever they may be — suddenly, the lights all came hack on. "Well," he said, "I guess that means you'll want to go now. I really like our talk. I hope the power will go out every few nights!"

56.1 wished to get out of the house because ____

A. I was angry about my parents’ quarrel        B. I found nobody to share my feelings with

C. I wanted to escape from the dark house        D. I planned to tell my friend about my trouble

57. Grandpa was happy to see me because _____.

A. he could discuss the problem with me    B. he had not seen me for a long lime

C. he was afraid of darkness              D. he felt quite lonely

58. What can be inferred from the passage?

A. The grandchild was eager to leave.     B. They would have more chats.

C. The lights would go out again.        D. It would no longer be dark.

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