Question

      In July 1994 Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system, was struck by 21 pieces of  comet(彗星).When the fragments(碎片)landed in the southern part of the giant planet, the explosions were watched by scientist here on earth. But what if our own planet was hit by a comet?

       The year is 2094. It has been announced that a comet is heading towards the earth. Most of it will miss our planet, but two fragments will probably hit the southern part of the earth. The news has caused panic.

       On 17 July, a fragment four kilometers wide enters the earth’s atmosphere with a huge explosion. About half of the fragment is destroyed. But the major part survives and hits the South Atlantic at 200 times the speed of sound. The sea boils and an enormous wave is created and spreads. The wall of water rushes towards southern Africa at 800 kilometers an hour. Cities on the African coast are totally destroyed and millions of people are drowned. The waves moves into the Indian Ocean and heads towards Asia.

       Millions of people are already dead in the southern part of the earth, but the north won’t escape for long. Tons of broken pieces are thrown into the atmosphere by the explosions. As the sun is hidden by clouds of dust, temperatures around the world fall to almost zero. Crops are ruined. Wars break out as countries fight for food. A year later civilization has collapsed. No more than 10 million people have survived.

       Could it really happen? In fact, it has already happened more than once in the history of the earth. The dinosaurs(恐龙)were on the earth for over 160 million years. Then 65 million years ago they suddenly disappeared. Many scientists believed that the earth was hit by a space fragment. The dinosaurs couldn’t survive in the cold climate that followed and they became extinct. Will we meet the same end?

 

1. Which of the following in NOT true according to the author’s description of the disaster in 2094?

       A. The whole world becomes extremely cold.

       B. All the coastal cities in Africa are destroyed.

       C. The whole mankind becomes extinct.

       D. The visit of the comet results in war.

2. Why does the author mention dinosaur at the end of the passage?

       A. Because they could only live in the warm climate.

       B. Because they once dominated the earth.

       C. Because their extinction indicates future disasters.

       D. Because dinosaurs and humans never live in the same age

3. In writing the passage, the author intends to ____.

       A. give an accurate description of the possible disaster in the future

       B. prove that humans will sooner or later be destroyed

       C. tell the historical development of the earth

       D. warn of a possible disaster in the future

4. It can be concluded that the passage is most probably part of a(n) ____.

       A. horror story                                   B. news report

       C. research paper                               D. article of popular science

Answer 1

1. C

解析：这是一道正误判断题。在倒数第二段中作者写道“A year later civilization has collapsed. No more than 10 million people have survived.”说明人类文明灭绝了，

而不是人类灭绝了。

2. C

解析：这是一道主旨推断题。为了证明这种灾难发生的可能性，作者列举了恐龙的例子。曾经在地球上生活了1亿6千万年，但是在6千5百万年前突然消失，以此证明未来地球上可能发生灾难。

3. D

解析：这是一道主旨推断题。在这篇短文中，作者讲述了2094年彗星碎片撞击地球后可能产生的灾难，其目的是警告人们在地球的未来可能会发生灾难。

4. D

解析：这是一道推理判断题。根据短文讲述的内容可以判断，这是一篇科幻小说，所以它可能是某篇科普文章的一部分。