When Geoff Marcy was 14, his parents bought him a telescope．Every night, he would go onto the roof outside his window to see the wonders of the sky．
“What excited me most was whether there were planets in other solar systems where life might exist,”he says．“I decided to try to find planets orbiting(沿…轨道运行)other stars like our Sun．”
And he did．“My fellow researcher, Paul Butler, and I found our first planet in 1995,”Dr．Marcy says．“We worked for ten years without finding anything!But we stuck with it, and our patience paid off．”
Since then, the two scientists have discovered 65 of the more than 100 planets orbiting other stars．Dr．Marcy and Dr．Butler also spotted the first“family”of three planets．In June 2002 they announced another discovery：a Jupiter-like(像木星一样的)planet orbiting star 55 Cancri．
At first, the two researchers found only planets that orbit close to stars．Recently, the scientists found planets farther out．The planet orbiting 55 Cancri is a major breakthrough：it is the first sighting of a large gas planet about the same distance from the star as Jupiter is from the Sun．
Why is this important?Scientists think that life on Earth may exist because of two special features in our solar system．The first is Jupiter．
“Because it’s so big, Jupiter pulls comets and asteroids(小行星), or they all come and hit the Earth．”Dr．Marcy explains．“Without Jupiter, life on Earth would likely have been destroyed．”
A second feature is that Earth is a rocky planet where liquid water, which is necessary for life, can exist．Unlike gas planets, rocky planets like Earth have surfaces where water can gather in pools and seas, which may support life．A huge space exists between the Jupiter-like planet and two other planets that lie close to 55 Cancri．Is there an Earthlike planet in the space, too small for us to notice?If so, says Dr．Marcy,“We would have two striking similarities to our solar system：a Jupiter-like planet and an Earth-like planet．And there may be life!”
(1)
What can we learn about Dr．Marcy from the passage?
[ ]
A．
He is found of watching Jupiter．
B．
He is from a scientist family．
C．
He dislikes working with Paul Butler．
D．
He is interested in finding life in outer space．
(2)
Which of the following is true of the recent discovery?
[ ]
A．
The planet is not as protective as Jupiter．
B．
The planet is close star 55 Cancri．
C．
The planet proves to be a gas planet．
D．
The planet is as large as Jupiter．
(3)
Dr．Marcy thinks that life may exist in the 55 Cancri system because ________．
[ ]
A．
he has found the system similar to the solar system
B．
he has discovered an Earth-like planet there
C．
he has discovered a rocky planet there
D．
he has found signs of life in the system
(4)
“But we stuck with it”(in Paragraph 3)means ________．
Americans can travel almost anywhere they choose．But to protect its people, the government lists a few dangerous places where Americans cannot go．These places are unfriendly countries or countries at war．There, the traveler might not be safe．These countries are listed in a small book called a passport①．
This passport is a government request for the safety of its traveling people．It is also a government’s pledge② that the people will obey the rules of the host country(东道国)．
To receive a passport from the government, a traveler must prove(证明)that he is an American citizen(公民)．An American can not go overseas(外国)without a passport．Only certain close countries such as Canada and Mexico do not ask for passports．
Pasted inside the passport is the traveler’s picture．Children traveling with their parents are included in one parent’s book．
Thousands of people from the United States visit other countries every year．An American traveler might carry plane tickets, money, clothing and many other things．But the most important that he carries in another country is his passport．
(1)
A passport is not needed when an American goes to ________．
[ ]
A．
foreign countries
B．
dangerous areas
C．
Canada or Mexico
D．
countries overseas
(2)
From the passage we can see that ________．
[ ]
A．
children can’t travel to foreign countries
B．
Americans like to travel
C．
a traveler is not safe in most countries
D．
Americans like to travel to close countries
(3)
Why does a traveler need a passport?
[ ]
A．
He needs something more to carry when he travels．
B．
It helps the country to protect the people．
C．
He needs to have his picture taken more often．
D．
It helps the traveler to know where he will go．
(4)
Which statement does the passage lead you to believe?
[ ]
A．
People should take care of their passports．
B．
It is not important to have a passport to travel．
C．
Children are never included in a passport．
D．
When you are in another country, money is more important than a passport．
(5)
Which of the following is true?
[ ]
A．
When Americans are traveling in another country, they must obey the rules of the country．
B．
The American government sometimes allows its people to travel to dangerous places．
C．
A passport is needed wherever an American is traveling．
D．
Everyone who lives in the United States can get a passport from the American government．
