Question

 “There is very little in my life that is more personal and more important to me than comets!” the amateur David H. Levy told Terence Dickinson in an interview. “Not just discovering them but watching them, learning about them, writing about them, understanding what they do. It makes observing the sky intensely personal. I feel when I find a new comet a door has been opened and I have seen a slightly new aspect of nature. There is this object in the solar system that ― for a few minutes or a few hours ― only I know about. It is like trying to pry（打探）a secret out of nature. It is a very special feeling.” Ever since he was a child, David H. Levy has been fascinated by the night sky and the wonders it reveals to devoted watchmen. He developed a special feeling for comets before he reached his teens, though it was not until 1984 ― after nineteen years and more than nine hundred hours of combing the sky in search of them ― that he discovered his first one, from a small observatory that he had built in his backyard.

Since then, he has discovered or co-discovered twenty more, making him one of the world's most important comet hunters. His most celebrated find is periodic comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, which he made with the husband-and-wife comet-and-asteroid-hunting team Eugene and Carolyn Shoemaker. The comet's dramatic collision with Jupiter in July 1994, which constituted（组成）“the greatest planetary show in recorded history,” to quote Malcolm W. Browne of the New York Times, captivated（迷住） not only professional astronomers, but many amateurs. Although he is only an amateur astronomer ― he earns his living by lecturing and writing books and by working with project artists. They’re projects devoted to introducing astronomy to elementary school children ― he has won tremendous respect from his professional colleagues for his success in tracking down comets. “David H. Levy is one of those rare individuals blessed with the gift of discovery,” David Hartsel, who serves on the board of directors of the Richland Astronomical Society, in Ohio, has said. “Even rarer is his ability to let others share in the excitement and wonder of those discoveries through his writing and lectures.”

46. The primary purpose of this passage is to ________.

A. praise Levy for his contribution to the observation of comets.

B. show that an amateur can do things as well as a professional.

C. introduce to the readers David Levy as a professional astronomer.

D. demonstrate that strong interest is very important in helping one succeed in his life.

47. All the following are suggested in this passage as reasons that contribute to Levy's success as a respectable astronomer EXCEPT that ________.

A. he had his books published on astronomy

B. he worked on a project that is intended to introduce astronomy

C. he was born with the gift of the discovery of comets

D. he was highly praised by his colleagues for his unselfishness

48. According to David Hartsel, he most appreciates Levy’s ________.

A. gifted ability of comet hunting             C. curiosity to the sky and comets

B. ability of communicating his ideas          D. spirit of devotion to astronomy

49. Levy says that watching the sky is quite personal to him because________.

A. he has developed a very special affection for the sky

B. he can discover a secret out of nature

C. he has established a close relationship with the sky

D. he may have a personal talk with nature

50. It can be inferred from the passage that_______.

A. Levy's parents are astronomers                      B. Levy was born in the 1970s

C. Levy achieved his fame in the 1980s

D. Levy himself has discovered 21 comets altogether

Answer 1

46-50 ADBAC