US researchers have found traces of an ancient lake on Mars recently, increasing hopes of discovering evidence that billions of years ago the Red planet hosted life.
The lake, which dates back some 3.4 billion years, appears to have covered as much as 80 square miles and was up to 1,500 feet deep, said the team from the University of Colorado.
“This is the first clear evidence of shorelines on the surface of Mars,”said Boulder’ s research associate, Gaetano Di Achille, in a study published in the latest edition of Geophysical Research Letters.
“The identification of the shorelines and accompanying geological evidence allows us to calculate the size and volume of the lake, which appears to have formed about 3.4 billion years ago.”
Analysis of the images has shown the water carved out the canyon (溪谷) in which it was found, which then opened out into a valley depositing (使淤积) sediment (沉积) which formed a delta (三角洲).
“Finding shorelines is a great discovery to us,” said assistant professor Brian Hynek, adding it showed the lake existed at a time when Mars was thought to have been cold and dry.
Scientists believe the oldest surfaces on Mars formed during the wet and warm era known as the Noachan epoch, about 4.1 billion to 3.7 billion years ago.
The newly discovered lake is believed to date from the Hesperian era and postdates the end of the warm and wet period on Mars by 300 million years, according to the study.
Scientists believe deltas next to the lake may well hold secrets about past life on Mars as such places on Earth have become the natural deposits of organic carbon and other markers of life.
【小题1】The size of the lake found on Mars is ______.

A．80 square miles	B．1,500 square miles
C．3.4 billion square miles	D．300 million square miles

A．Because similar places on Earth have become natural deposits of markers of life.

B．Because someone has put secrets about past life on Mars there.

C．Because past life has been found in other deltas on Mars.

D．Because some people are said to have already seen life marks there.

Vitas 2008 Beijing Concert

Venue:  Capital Gymnasium

Time:　 2008-01-24 19:30

Price:　 TBD(Booking)

Tel.:    86-10-64177845

God Blessed Boy

Extremely Beautiful Voice

Unforgettable Hot Live

First appeared on the Russian stage in December 2000, this show became an extreme classic in Vitas' music history. Since then, moreover, more fans from other countries were caught by him from this video especially in China. The lack of Russian language was not in the way for dozen thousands of admirers from China, Taiwan, Singapore and Japan first to pay attention and then to love Vitas' creative work, his voice and songs. Undoubtedly his 2008 concert will also be considered as the yearly expectable concert in Chinese music scene and the most important event among his fans. Let's expect it!

Lang Lang Piano Solo Concert

Venue:  National Grand Theater-Concert Hall

Time:　 2008-01-03 19:30:00/2008-01-04 19:30:00

Price:　 TBD(Booking)

Tel:     800-810-1887

Acclaimed in the major concert halls of North America, Europe and Asia, Lang Lang - at the age of 20s - has demonstrated an extraordinary ability to connect with audiences on a deeply personal level and has established himself as one of the most exciting pianists of our time. Lang Lang's talent and personality make him an ideal ambassador for classical music and a role model for young people. He is the first Chinese pianist to be engaged by the Berlin Philharmonic and all "Big Five" American orchestras.

Li Yun Di Piano Recital（独奏会）

Venue:  National Grand Theater-Concert Hall

Time:　 2008-3-27 19:30:00 

Price:　 TBD(Booking)

Tel:    010-64177845

Remarks: The tickets for Li Yun Di Piano Recital will be available soon!

Called "extravagantly gifted and highly accomplished" by the Los Angeles Times, China pianist Li Yundi was born in 1982 in Chongqing and first gained worldwide attention after winning first prize at the 2000 Chopin International Piano Competition in Warsaw. He was the first person in 15 years to be awarded a first prize.

Soprano Te Kanawa Solo Concert

Venue:  National Grand Theater-Concert Hall

Time:　 2008-01-02 19:30:00 

Price:　 180(Out)280(Selling)480(Selling)680(Selling)880(Selling)1680(Out)

Tel:     400-810-1887

Dame Kiri Janette Te Kanawa is an internationally famous New Zealand opera singer. In 1981, she was seen and heard around the world by an estimated 600 million people when she sang Handel's "Let the Bright Seraphim" at the wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer.

72．The main purpose of this passage is______.

      A．to attract people to attend these concerts

      B．enrich your knowledge of some famous musicians

      C．rouse your interest in music

      D．call on young people to learn from them

73．Which concert will you attend if you want to hear an opera?

       A．Vitas 2008 Beijing Concert        B．Lang Lang Piano Solo Concert

       C．Li Yun Di Piano Recital           D．Soprano Te Kanawa Solo Concert

74．About the tickets to Li Yun Di Piano Recital, which of the following is right?

       A．The price for the tickets hasn’t been determined.

       B．The tickets have been sold out.

       C．The price of the tickets is too high.

       D．It will be long before you can book the tickets for it.

75．What can you know from the advertisement?

      A．The lack of Russian language stops people in China loving Vitas’s songs.

      B．Some of the tickets for Soprano Te Kanawa Solo Concert have been sold out.

       C．Lang Lang is one of the first Chinese pianists to be engaged by the Berlin Philharmonic and all "Big Five" American orchestras.

       D．You have to pay the telephone bill if you call to book the tickets for Soprano Te Kanawa Solo Concert

D
I read about it in the paper, in the subway, on my way to work. I read it, and I couldn't believe it, and I read it again. Then perhaps I just stared at it, at the newsprint spelling out his name, spelling out the story. I stared at it in the swinging lights of the subway car, and in the faces and bodies of the people, and in my own face, trapped in the darkness which roared(隆隆响) outside.
It was not to be believed and I kept telling myself that, as I walked from the subway station to the high school. And at the same time I couldn't doubt it. I was scared, scared for Sonny. He became real to me again. A great block of ice got settled in my belly and kept melting there slowly all day long, while I taught my classes algebra. It was a special kind of ice. It kept melting, sending trickles(涓涓细流)of ice water all up and down my veins(血管), but it never got less. Sometimes it hardened and seemed to expand until I felt my heart was going to come spilling(溢出) out or that I was going to choke or scream. This would always be at a moment when I was remembering some specific thing Sonny had once said or done.
When he was about as old as the boys in my classes his face had been bright and open; and he'd had wonderfully direct brown eyes, and great gentleness. I wondered what he looked like now. He had been picked up, the evening before, in a sudden search on an apartment down-town, for selling and using heroin.
I couldn't believe it: but what I mean by that is that I couldn't find any room for it anywhere inside me. I had kept it outside me for a long time. I hadn't wanted to know. I had had suspicions(怀疑), but I didn't name them, I kept putting them away. I told myself that Sonny was wild, but he wasn't crazy. And he'd always been a good boy, he hadn't ever turned hard or evil or disrespectful, the way kids can, so quick, so quick, especially in Harlem. I didn't want to believe that I'd ever see my brother going down, coming to nothing, all that light in his face gone out, in the condition I'd already seen so many others.
67. The underlined word “it” in Paragraph 1 refers to ____.
A. the swinging light of the subway car    B. the news of Sonny’s being arrested
C. everything trapped in the darkness       D. newspaper
68. We can learn from the passage that ____.
A. the news on the paper was unbelievable.
B. I was too scared to believe the news
C. I was ill because a great block of ice was in my belly
D. Sonny and I hadn’t seen each other for a long time
69. What can be inferred from the last paragraph?
A. Sonny and I were brothers.
B. Sonny had always been a good boy before being arrested.
C. I didn’t care about Sonny.
D. Many young men turned bad in Harlem.
70. Which of the following can best describe the author’s feelings towards Sonny?
   A. Concern, affection, expectation.            B. Concern, hatred, expectation.
C. Affection, regret, sympathy.                  D. Regret, understanding, sympathy.

US researchers have found traces of an ancient lake on Mars recently, increasing hopes of discovering evidence that billions of years ago the Red planet hosted life.

    The lake, which dates back some 3.4 billion years, appears to have covered as much as 80 square miles and was up to 1,500 feet deep, said the team from the University of Colorado.

    “This is the first clear evidence of shorelines on the surface of Mars,”said Boulder’ s research associate, Gaetano Di Achille, in a study published in the latest edition of Geophysical Research Letters.

   “The identification of the shorelines and accompanying geological evidence allows us to calculate the size and volume of the lake, which appears to have formed about 3.4 billion years ago.”

   Analysis of the images has shown the water carved out the canyon (溪谷) in which it was found, which then opened out into a valley depositing (使淤积) sediment (沉积) which formed a delta (三角洲).

  “Finding shorelines is a great discovery to us,” said assistant professor Brian Hynek, adding it showed the lake existed at a time when Mars was thought to have been cold and dry.

    Scientists believe the oldest surfaces on Mars formed during the wet and warm era known as the Noachan epoch, about 4.1 billion to 3.7 billion years ago.

The newly discovered lake is believed to date from the Hesperian era and postdates the end of the warm and wet period on Mars by 300 million years, according to the study.

 Scientists believe deltas next to the lake may well hold secrets about past life on Mars as such places on Earth have become the natural deposits of organic carbon and other markers of life.

1.The size of the lake found on Mars is ______.

A. 80 square miles                  B. 1,500 square miles

C. 3.4 billion square miles             D. 300 million square miles

2.When the lake existed, the weather on Mars was ____.

A. hot and wet      B. wet and warm         C. cold and dry     D. cold and wet

3.Why do scientists think deltas near the lake may hold secrets about past life on Mars?

A. Because similar places on Earth have become natural deposits of markers of life.

B. Because someone has put secrets about past life on Mars there.

C. Because past life has been found in other deltas on Mars.

D. Because some people are said to have already seen life marks there.

4.Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

A. The Noachan epoch was a wet and warm era.

B. The lake might have existed 3.4 billion years.

C. The discovery can’ t fully prove that the Mars once hosted life.

D. The lake traces prove that there exists life on Mars now.

US researchers have found traces of an ancient lake on Mars recently, increasing hopes of discovering evidence that billions of years ago the red planet hosted life.

The lake, which dates back some 3.4 billion years, appears to have covered as much as 80 square miles and was up to 1，500 feet deep, said the team from the University of Colorado.

“This is the first clear evidence of shorelines on the surface of Mars，” said Boulder's research associate, Gaetano Di Achille, in a study published in the latest edition of Geophysical Research Letters.

“The identification of the shorelines and accompanying geological evidence allows us to calculate the size and volume of the lake, which appears to have formed about 3.4 billion years ago.”

Analysis of the images has shown the water carved out the canyon(溪谷) in which it was found, which then opened out into a valley depositing(使淤积) sediment(沉积物) which formed a delta(三角洲)．

“Finding shorelines is a great discovery to us”， said assistant professor Brian Hynek, adding it showed the lake existed at a time when Mars was thought to have been cold and dry.

Scientists believe the oldest surfaces on Mars formed during the wet and warm era known as the Noachan epoch, about 4.1 billion to 3.7 billion years ago.

The newly discovered lake is believed to date from the Hesperian era and postdates the end of the warm and wet period on Mars by 300 million years, according to the study.

Scientists believe deltas next to the lake may well hold secrets about past life on Mars as such places on Earth have become the natural deposits of organic carbon and other markers of life.

16．The size of the lake found on Mars is ________．

A．80 square miles 

B．1，500 square miles

C．3.4 billion square miles 

D．300 million square miles

17．When the lake existed, the weather on Mars was ________．

A．hot and wet  B．wet and warm

C．cold and dry  D．cold and wet

18．Why do scientists think deltas near the lake may hold secrets about past life on Mars?

A．Because similar places on Earth have become natural deposits of markers of life.

B．Because someone has put secrets about past life on Mars there.

C．Because past life has been found in other deltas on Mars.

D．Because some people are said to have already seen life marks there.

19．Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

A．The Noachan epoch was a wet and warm era.

B．The lake might have existed 3.4 billion years.

C．The discovery can't fully prove that the Mars once hosted life.

D．The lake traces prove that there exists life on Mars now.