题目内容
Unless we spend money to spot and prevent asteroids (小行星) now, one might crash into Earth and destroy life as we know it, say some scientists.
Asteroids are bigger versions of the meteoroids (流星) that race across the night sky. Most orbit the sun far from Earth and don’t threaten us. But there are also thousands whose orbits put them on a collision course with Earth.
Buy $50 million worth of new telescopes right now. Then spend $100 million a year for the next 25 years to locate most of the space rocks. By the time we spot a fatal one, the scientists say, we’ll have a way to change its course.
Some scientists favor pushing asteroids off course with nuclear weapons. But the cost wouldn’t be cheap.
Is it worth it? Two things experts consider when judging any risk are: 1) How likely the event is; and 2) How bad the consequences if the event occurs. Experts think an asteroid big enough to destroy lots of life might strike Earth once every 500,000 years. Sounds pretty rare-but if one did fall, it would be the end of the world. If we don’t take care of these big asteroids, they’ll take care of us,” says one scientist. “It’s that simple.”
The cure, though, might be worse than the disease. Do we really want fleets of nuclear weapons sitting around on Earth? “ The world has less to fear from doomsday (毁灭性的) rocks than from a great nuclear fleet set against them,” said a New York Times article.
- 1.
What does the passage say about asteroids and meteoroids?
- A.They are heavenly bodies different in composition.
- B.They are heavenly bodies similar in nature.
- C.There are more asteroids than meteoroids.
- D.Asteroids are more mysterious than meteoroids.
- A.
- 2.
What do scientists say about the collision of an asteroid with Earth?
- A.It is very unlikely but the danger exists.
- B.Such a collision might occur once every 25 years.
- C.Collisions of smaller asteroids with Earth occur more often than expected.
- D.It’s still too early to say whether such a collision might occur.
- A.
- 3.
What do people think of the suggestion of using nuclear weapons to alter the course of asteroids?
- A.It sounds practical but it may not solve the problem.
- B.It may create more problems than it might solve.
- C.It is a waste of money because a collision of asteroids with Earth is very unlikely.
- D.Further research should be done before it is proved applicable.
- A.
- 4.
We can conclude from the passage that ________
- A.while pushing asteroids off course nuclear weapons would destroy the world.
- B.asteroids racing across the night sky are likely to hit Earth in the near future.
- C.the worry about asteroids can be left to future generations since it is unlikely to happen in our lifetime
- D.workable solutions still have to be found to prevent a collision of asteroids with Earth.
- A.
- 5.
Which of the following best describes the author’s tone in this passage?
- A.Optimistic
- B.Critical
- C.Objective
- D.Arbitrary
- A.
Sunday is more like Monday than it used to be. Places of business that used to keep daytime “business hours” are now open late into the night. And on the Internet, the hour of the day and the day of the week have become irrelevant (不相关的). A half century ago in the United States, most people experienced strong and precise dividing lines between days of rest and days of work, school time and summer time. Today the boundaries still exist, but they seem not clear.
The law in almost all states used to require stores to close on Sunday; in most, it no longer does. It used to keep the schools open in all seasons except summer; in most, it still does. And whether the work week should strengthen its legal limits, or whether it should become more “flexible,” is often debated. How should we, as a society, organize our time? Should we go even further in relaxing the boundaries of time until we live in a world in which every minute is much like every other?
These are not easy questions even to ask. Part of the difficulty is that we rarely recognize the “law of time” even when we meet it face to face. We know as children that we have to attend school a certain number of hours, a certain number of days, a certain number of years—but unless we meet the truant officer (学监), we may well think that we should go to school due to social custom and parents’ demand rather than to the law. As adults we are familiar with “extra pay for overtime working,” but less familiar with the fact that what constitutes (构成)“overtime” is a matter of legal definition. When we turn the clock forward to start daylight-saving time, have we ever thought to ourselves: “Here is the law in action”? As we shall see, there is a lot of law that has great influence on how we organize and use time: compulsory education law, overtime law, and daylight-saving law — as well as law about Sunday closing, holidays, being late to work, time zones, and so on. Once we begin to look for it, we will have no trouble finding a law of time to examine and assess.
【小题1】By saying “Sunday is more like Monday than it used to be”, the writer means that_____ .
A.work time is equal to rest time |
B.many people have a day off on Monday |
C.it is hard for people to decide when to rest |
D.the line between work time and rest time is unclear |
A.fail to make full use of their time | B.enjoy working overtime for extra pay |
C.are unaware of the law of time | D.welcome flexible working hours |
A.need to acquire knowledge | B.have to obey their parents |
C.need to find companions | D.have to observe the law |
A.Our life is governed by the law of time. |
B.How to organize time is not worth debating. |
C.New ways of using time change our society. |
D.Our time schedule is decided by social customs. |