题目内容
(This selection was originally published in 1992. Pluto (冥王星) is no longer classified as a planet.)
Pluto is in many ways the strangest of the planets. It is small and has a large moon(called Charon). Its orbit is unusual, which may cause it to have seasons in the sense that when it is close to the sun, the liquid methane(甲烷)on its surface boils to form a kind of atmospheric haze(烟雾). When the planet moves farther away from the sun, it starts to snow solid methane.
Pluto is not dark. Despite its great distance from the sun, the surface of Pluto is probably as bright as a moonlit night on Earth. The reason is all that methane, which is as white as newly fallen snow.
The discovery of Pluto was more accident than design. The American astronomer Percival Lowell had predicted the existence of a ninth planet(he called it Planet X)based on what he took to be irregularities in the orbit of Neptune. Today astronomers argue that these "irregularities" weren't real, but the result of instrumental error. Nevertheless, Lowell produced predictions about where Planet X ought to be(although, to be honest, the predictions changed occasionally when he redid the calculations).In any case, in 1930 Clyde Tombaugh, doing a systemic sky survey that would have found the planet no matter where it was, discovered the planet we now call Pluto. By coincidence, its position was pretty close to where Lowell's last prediction said it should be. Was it just luck? We'll never know.
72. On Pluto's surface, liquid methane boils to form an atmospheric haze, which would be most
similar to ____.
A. light B. darkness C. liquid D. steam
73. What effect is produced by including the question "Was it just luck?" at the end of the text?
A. The question encourages the reader to think about why Pluto is a strange planet.
B. The question encourages the reader to think about how planets are discovered.
C .The question suggests that all discoveries are luck, not just design.
D. The question suggests that other planets were found in different ways.
74. What contributes to the brightness of Pluto?
A. Methane on its surface. B. Its great distance from the sun.
C. Light from its moon, Charon. D. Its closeness to the sun.
75. The text mainly wants to ____.
A. give a brief introduction of Pluto B. talk about the discovery of Pluto
C. prove the exact position of Pluto D. describe the strangeness of Pluto
DBAA
Whether you’re headed to another country for business or pleasure, it is likely that you need to keep in touch with family or business partners in the United States. But if you plan to do that using your cellphone, you could have an unwelcome surprise—U.S. cellphones don’t work abroad. U.S. companies use different forms of technology, not like most of the international community, including Europe.?
However, there is an easy, cost-effective solution to staying in touch while you’re traveling. You can rent a phone that is guaranteed(保证)to work in the countries you’re visiting. Roadpost offers a 30-day cellphone rental plan that includes free incoming calls, free voicemail and call waiting services.
The service is convenient and simple. You can place your order online and your phone will be shipped to arrive on the date you want. If an unexpected business trip comes up, Roadpost can provide next-day delivery for most cities. In addition to the phone, Roadpost provides a spare battery, travel charger and a leather carrying case.?
When your phone is shipped from Roadpost, you receive an e-mail confirmation(确认)that contains your international cellphone number so you can leave it with family members and business partners; Roadpost even provides business cards preprinted with your international phone number.?
Those who don’t want to be without e-mail while traveling can rent an international BlackBerry. It can be hard to stay in touch by e-mail when traveling. With an international BlackBerry, you can e-mail as much as you like, without worrying about an expensive bill. If you’re traveling to very remote areas, you may want to consider renting a satellite phone, because it receives its signals from satellites, this phone works anywhere on the planet, including oceans and mountains. When you return, simply ship the phone or BlackBerry back to Roadpost using the return kit the company provides.?
【小题1】The first paragraph mainly tells us that_________.?
A.Americans need to change their cellphones? |
B.European form of technology is different from America’s? |
C.U.S. cellphones don’t work abroad? |
D.Americans who go abroad will meet an unwelcome surprise |
A.an international BlackBerry is only used to send e-mail? |
B.Roadpost can offer cellphones using in different areas? |
C.you should select a bag used to send your cellphone? |
D.Roadpost sells the best cellphones? |
A.Voicemail.? | B.Sending e-mail.? |
C.Shipping the phone back.? | D.Call waiting services.?? |
A.BlackBerry. | B.The return kit.? | C.E-mail. | D.Satellite phones. |
Throughout the history of the arts,the nature of creativity has remained constant to artists.No matter what objects they select,artists are to bring forth new forces and forms that cause change—to find poetry where no one has ever seen or experienced it before.
Landscape(风景) is another unchanging element of art.It can be found from ancient times through the 17th-century Dutch painters to the 19th-century romanticists and impressionists.In the 1970s Alfred Leslie,one of the new American realists,continued this practice.Leslie sought out the same place where Toomas Cole,a romanticist,had produced paintings of the same scene a century and a half before.Unlike Cole who insists on a feeling of loneliness and the idea of finding peace in nature,Lealie paints what he actually sees.In his paintings,there is no particular change in emotion,and he includes ordinary things like the highway in the background.He also takes advantage of the latest developments of color photography(摄影术) to help both the eye and the memory when he improves his painting back in his workroom.
Besides,all art begs the age-old question:What is real?Each generation of artists has shown their understanding of reality in one form or another.The impressionists saw reality in brief emotional effects,the realists in everyday subjects and in forest scenes,and the Cro-Magnon cave people in their naturalistic drawings of the animals in the ancient Forests.To sum up,understanding reality is a necessary struggle for artists of all periods.
Over thousands of years the function of the arts has remained relatively constant.Past or present,Eastern or Western,the arts are a basic part of our immediate experience.Many and different are the faces of art,and together they express the basic need and hope of human beings.
【小题1】The underlined word “poetry” most probably means______.
A.an object for artistic creation |
B.a collection of poems |
C.an unusual quality |
D.a natural scene |
A.they are close in style to works in ancient times |
B.they look like works by 19th-century painters |
C.they draw attention to common things in life |
D.they depend heavily on color photography |
A.It will not be found in future works of art. |
B.It does not have a long-lasting standard. |
C.It is expressed in a fixed artistic form. |
D.It is lacking in modern words of art. |
A.They express people’s curiosity about the past. |
B.They make people interested in everyday experience. |
C.They are considered important for variety in form. |
D.They are regarded as a mirror of the human situation. |
A.History of the arts. |
B.Basic questions of the arts. |
C.New developments in the arts. |
D.Use of modern technology in the arts.四、写作(共两节,满分35分) |
Bayfield Shopping Coupons (赠券)
1. Six Hours Free Parking If you spend $100 or more in our stores you will receive six hours of free parking. When you have spent $100 or more, just take this coupon and your receipts to the customer service desk on level 4. They will stamp your parking ticket to allow 6 hours of free parking. Offer until November 14. |
2. Win a $1,000 CD Collection Win your choice of $1,000 worth of CDs from JB Music Store. Just buy any two CDs and your name will go into the competition. Select your own prize from our wide variety of rock, pop, jazz, and classical music. Competition ends November 14. Prize drawn on November 21. Check store for more information. |
3. Buy One, Get One Free Buy one shirt or tie at Daniel’s Menswear, and get another shirt or tie of the same value free. Choose from any of our dress shirts and we will give you another one at no cost. Hurry! Offer ends November 14. Offer limited to one per customer. |
4. 10% Off Present this coupon at The Book Store to get a 10%discount on any books you buy. We have lots of books to choose from, including children’s books, novels, travel guides, and science works. You are sure to find something that you will enjoy. Shop now for Christmas. We have plenty of toys as gifts for you and avoid the rush. Offer here until November 14. |
5. Half-price Movie Tickets Buy any full-price movie ticket on Tuesdays or Wednesdays, and you can buy a second ticket for a friend for only half price. The latest movies are here, showing in one of our five theaters at Bayfield Shopping Center. Offer good through December 1. Limit one per customer. |
6. Free Soft Drink Buy any meal for at least $6 at Mike’s Café, and receive a free soft drink. We serve the best fast food in the Shopping Centre. Come in and try our delicious meals and our excellent service. You won’t be disappointed! Free soft drink offer ends November 14. |
A.Food you can order for delivery. | B.Places to go on vacation. |
C.Special offers at a shopping center. | D.Things on sale in a big store. |
A.Spending $ 50 means 3 hours of free parking. |
B.One person can buy 4 tickets for the price of three. |
C.After buying two CDs, you can get another two CDs for free. |
D.At Mike’s Cafe, people can get a free drink after spending $ 6. |
A.there are more than one theatre in the center |
B.if you buy a book there, you may pay less than half the price |
C.you may get a free one if you buy a shirt, or a tie, or a pair of shoes |
D.you won’t get a free soft drink unless you spend more than 10 dollars on the meal |
New York Times---( DINITIA SMITH )Tomorrow is the 433d anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth. A recent survey shows that more people are watching him, reading him and studying him than ever before.
Consider the recent yearly conference of the Shakespeare Association of America in Washington, where more than 600 people who study or admire Shakespeare from 18 countries took in topics like ‘‘Whither Attribution Studies,’’ ‘‘Unpopular Shakespeare’’ and ‘‘Sex Me Here,’’ a talk on breast-feeding and Lady Macbeth.
‘‘The national media is saying that fewer students’ taking Shakespeare,’’ Barbara Mowat, the editor of The Shakespeare Quarterly, observed in a speech at the conference. ‘‘But Shakespeare is thriving.’’ The association’s membership has increased by a third since 1990.
The Shakespeare business is so good these days that W. W. Norton is introducing a huge new collections of the plays into the already crowded field just in time for tomorrow’s birthday anniversary. Priced at $44.95, ‘‘The Norton Shakespeare: Based on the Oxford Edition’’ runs for 3,420 pages, offering introductions, illustrations and notes and three versions(版本) of ‘‘King Lear.’’
Today, movies and videos have made the plays even more accessible. Last year, ‘‘William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet’’ was No. 1 at the box office when it opened, and it grossed nearly $50 million. In New York in January, crowds lined up in the freezing cold to see Kenneth Branagh’s four-hour ‘‘Hamlet.’’ The students select a scene and then have a violent discussion about it.’’ Influenced by films, professors are increasingly teaching students by having them perform the plays.
【小题1】Why people from 18 countries came to Washington this year?
A.To celebrate Shakespeare’s 433d birth day only. |
B.To watch some plays by Shakespeare as planned. |
C.To celebrate Shakespeare’s birthday and study his works. |
D.To discuss how to teach students using Shakespeare’s plays. |
A. Washington D.C. B. Shakespeare Association.
C. The birthday anniversary. D. The Shakespeare business.
【小题3】Which of the many plays by Shakespeare was most popular the year before?
A.King Lear. | B.Hamlet. |
C.Macbeth. | D.Romeo and Juliet. |
A. More and more people are becoming interested in Shakespeare.
B. Shakespeare business is being run well in America nowadays.
C. Plays by Shakespeare can be used at school for more studies.
D. Shakespeare belongs not only to Britain but also to the USA.