Scientists say there are more than three hundred thousand small objects or pieces of debris (碎片) that are larger than one centimeter in orbit round the earth. Any one of these could cause damage to a spacecraft. This is because orbital debris travels very fast― about thirtytwo thou?sand kilometers an hour or more. Even a very small object can be a major threat.

  Space debris made horrible news on March 20th when a part of an old rocket motor about ten centimeters in size threatened the International Space Station (ISS) . NASA warned the three astronauts inside before the object was to reach the area of the station. The three astronauts quickly moved into the Soyuz emergency escape vehicle as a safety measure. They spent about 11 tense minutes in the capsule. Millions of people were watching the news in front of the televi?sion.

  A more costly incident took place on February 10th. An old Russian military satellite and a United States communications satellite crashed into each other eight hundred kilometers above Siberia in Russia. The collision of the two satellites was the first of its kind in over fifty years of space travel. It spread hundreds of pieces of debris that are larger than one centimeter. Russia launched the Kosmos satellite in1993. But it had not operated for ten years. It was one of hundreds of inactive satellites that remain in orbit. The American Iridium 33 satellite was used for telephone communications. It was owned by Iridium Satellite,a company based in Bethesda,Maryland. The collision was really a loss to the company. But it quickly used another satel?lite as a substitute of Iridium 33 so the collision caused little influence to its service.

  But some even bigger debriscausing events take place sometimes. For example in January,2007,one country tested an antisatellite missile by destroying one of its weather satellites. The test broke the satellites apart into at least two thousand eight hundred identifiable pieces. The debris now circles the earth in orbit from two hundred kilometers to over three thousand eight hundred kilometers.

  Currently,there is no treaty to control the spread of space debris.  Scientists have propounded many ways of cleaning up space,such as using nets,giant collecting arms and powerful laser beams that would move or destroy space junk. But for now,these are just ideas. And,as more nations launch spacecraft,the risk of debris strikes will only grow.

(   ) 5. What makes space debris so destructive?

   A. Its great population. B. Its particular shape.

   C. Its travel speed. D. Its inside structure.

(   ) 6. From the second paragraph we can know that         .

   A. the old rocket motor caused great damage to ISS on March 20th

   B. the news that the old rocker motor made drew great attention from the world

   C. the three astronauts lost their lives in the collision on March 20th

   D. the earth couldn't get in touch with the three astronauts on March 20th

(   ) 7. The last two paragraphs imply that         ,

   A. few rules about protecting the environment of space are being carried out

   B. the development of science will make space a more dangerous place

   C. many countries have agreed on the idea of removing space debris together

   D. using giant collecting arms is the best way of treating space debris

(   ) 8. The underlined word "propounded" in the last paragraph means        .

   A. brought up   B. tried out   C. heard of   D. brought in

  Millions of women use cosmetics,often called "makeup". The cosmetics industry is one of the biggest in the world. Most large stores sell cosmetics,and there are always shops at air?ports selling them cheaply. The word "cosmetics" refers to anything that people put on their faces to make them look better. Lipstick,face powder and cream,and eye makeup are the most popular. Although more women than men use cosmetics,there are cosmetics for men as well as women.

Some people even have cosmetic surgery to make their faces look different. They have the shape of their noses and eyes changed.

The most widely used cosmetic is probably lipstick,as many women who do not wear any other makeup will often put on a little lipstick.

Lipstick is made by mixing together different oils and colors. This mixture is then allowed to get hard and is cut into the shape of a small pencil. When a woman presses the lipstick to her lips,the end of it becomes soft,and some of it sticks to her lips,giving them extra color.

Cosmetics were probably first used in India,but it was the Egyptians,six thousand years ago,who made the most use of them. Rich Egyptian women painted their eyes green and black. They used a red color to paint pretty designs on their fingernails,the palms of their hands and the soles of their feet. Pictures of Cleopatra always show her wearing a lot of makeup.

The Romans also used cosmetics. They liked to make their skin very white and to paint their eyes. They also used a kind of lipstick.

In England at one time,very rich women had baths in milk to make their skin beautiful. They also used a lot of sweetsmelling powder to stop people smelling their bodies,which were often very dirty because they did not wash very often or change their clothes.

At one time,some cosmetics were not safe. They were bad for the skin,and some of the lipsticks and powders that people used were even poisonous. Nowadays,people in the cosmetics industry take great care to make sure that everything they use is completely safe.

(   ) 5. Which of the following cosmetics is probably most widely used?

   A. Lipstick. B. Face powder. C. Cream. D. Surgery.

(   ) 6. For what reason do people use cosmetics?

   A. Only to have a good feeling. B. Only to color their face. C. To make themselves look better. D. Instead of surgery.

(   ) 7. From the passage we know that in earlier times,          .

   A. all cosmetics were harmful to people

   B. people never used cosmetics on the eyes

   C. poisonous cosmetics were never used on the skin

   D. not all cosmetics were harmful to the skin

(   ) 8. What is the main meaning of the passage?

   A. Cosmetic surgery is the only method to make people different.

   B. People,women or men,ancient or present,love to be different.

   C. Cosmetics were probably first used by the Egyptians six thousand years ago.

   D. All cosmetics are safe so we should not be careful to use them.

International airlines have rediscovered the business travelers,the man or woman who regu?larly jets from country to country as part of the job. This does not necessarily mean that airlines ever abandoned their business travelers. Indeed,companies like Lufthansa and Swissair would rightly argue that they have always catered (迎合) best for the executive class passengers. But many lines could be accused of concentrating too heavily in the recent past on attracting passen?gers by volume,often at the expense of regular travelers. Too often,they have seemed geared for quantity rather than quality. Operating a major airline in the 1980s is essentially a matter of finding the right mix of passengers. The airlines need to fill up the back end of their widebod?ied jets with low fare passengers,without forgetting that the front end should be filled with peo?ple who pay substantially more for their tickets.

It is no coincidence that the two major airline bankruptcies in 1982 were among the compa?nies specializing in cheap flights. But low fares require consistently full aircraft to make flights economically viable,and in the recent recession (经济衰退) the volume of traffic has not grown. Equally the large number of airlines jostling (争夺) for the available passengers has created a huge excess of capacity. The net result of excess capacity and cutthroat competition driving down fares has been to push some airlines into collapse and leave many others hovering (摇摆不定) on the brink (边沿) .

Against this grim (严酷的) background,it is no surprise that airlines are turning increasingly towards the business travelers to improve their rates of return. They have invested much time and effort to establish exactly what the executive demands for sitting apart from the tourists.

High on the list of priorities (有先考虑的事) is punctuality;an executive's time is money. Inflight service is another area where the airlines are jostling for the executive's attention. The free drinks and headsets and better food are all part of the lure (吸引力) .

(   ) 5. One criticism against many international airlines is that they have,in the recent past,

   A. catered for the more wealthy people

   B. given preferential treatment to executive clients

   C. only met the needs of the regular traveler

   D. marketed their service with the masses in mind

(   ) 6. With the intention of attracting a somewhat different type of passenger,the airlines have now begun to concentrate on         .

   A. ensuring that the facilities offered to the executive are indeed superior

   B. providing facilities enabling business travelers to work on board

   C. organizing activities in which firstclass passengers can participate

   D. installing sleeping compartments where more privacy is ensured

(   ) 7. From the passage we can infer that         .

   A. a successful airline in the 1980s meets the needs not only of the masses but also of the wealthy passengers

   B. it is more comfortable to sit in the back of jet planes

   C. business travelers dislike tourists

   D. only by specializing in cheap flights can airlines avoid bankruptcy

(   ) 8. The case that "the two major airline bankruptcies in 1982 were among the companies specializing in cheap flights" implicates         .

   A. the airlines should not pay more attention to the regular passengers

    B. airlines for low fares must keep a constant stream of passengers in order to stay viable

   C. the airlines should pay more attention to the business passengers

   D. low fares would make companies bankrupted

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