I'm afraid this painting is not by Picasso. It's only a copy and so it's _____.

A.priceless　　　　　　 B.invaluable　　　　　　 C.unworthy　　　　 D. worthless

For more than twenty years scientists have been searching for signs of life on other planets. Most of these searches have been done over the radio. The hope is that someone on outer space may be trying to get in touch with us. Scientists also have sent radio and television messages on spaceships travelling through space, on the chance that someone may be receptive to such messages.

Scientists are using powerful radio telescopes to listen to signals from about 1,000 stars, all within 100 light years of earth. In addition, they will scan the entire sky to “listen” for radio messages from more distant stars. Using a computer, they will be able to monitor more than eight channels at one time. Scientists are looking for any signal that stands out from the background noise.

Of the 200 billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy(银河星系), scientist find that five percent are like our sun. Perhaps half of them have a planet like earth. Such a planet would be a reasonable distance from the star for temperatures to be right for the evolution of life. Based on the inhabitable (that can be lived in) planets in our galaxy, most scientists agree that chances are likely that one or more of these planets supports some life.

However, many scientists wonder whether intelligent life exists on other planets. Some believe that twenty years of searching without any intelligible message shows that no one is out there. They say that the evolution of intelligence comparable to ours is unlikely.

Other scientists believe that our search hasn’t been long enough to rule out the possibility that intelligent life exists in our galaxy. Although our sun family is about 20 billion years old. In that time, some scientists think it is likely that civilizations much more advanced than ours have developed. Perhaps these civilizations send us no signals; perhaps we have not recognized the signals they have sent us. If we hope to find intelligent life, these scientists believe that we have to keep looking.

1. According to the passage, how many planets in our galaxy might be inhabitable?

A. 5 billion.　　　　　　 B. 10 billion.

C. 15 billion.　　　　　　 D. 200 billion.

2. The first paragraph in this passage is mainly about 　　　　 .

A. how scientists are looking for signs of life on other planets

B. why scientists are looking for signs of life on other planets

C. where scientists are looking for signs of life on other planets

D. when scientists are looking for signs of life on other planets

3. The underlined word “monitor” in the second paragraph means “　　　　 ”.

A. find　 B. follow　 C. check　 D. form

4. Which of these statements is TRUE based on the information in the passage?

A. The earth is one of the oldest planets in our galaxy.

B. Most scientists believe that there is intelligent life on other planets.

C. Scientists are trying different ways to find signs of life on other planets.

D. Scientists don’t believe that there might be life on other planets.

The workmen made so much _____ that Mrs. Walker had to spend three days cleaning up afterwards.
A. trouble　　 B. damage　　 C. mess　 D. nuisance

Although it is not our normal _____ to give credit, this time I think we should consider the matter more closely.　

A. state　　　　　　 B. intention　　　　　　 C. occasion　　　　　　 D. practice

　 Kids will often ignore your requests for them to shut off the TV，start their chores(杂事)，or do their homework as a way to avoid following your directions.Before you know it，you’ve started to sound like a broken record as you repeatedly ask them to do their assignments，clean their rooms，or take out the trash.Rather than saying “Do your chores now.” you’ll be more effective if you set a target time for when the chores have to be completed.So instead of arguing about starting chores，just say，“If chores aren’t done by 4 pm，here are the consequences.”Then it’s up to your child to complete the chores.Put the ball back in their court.Don’t argue or fight with them，just say，“That’s the way it’s going to be.”It shouldn’t be punitive(惩罚性的)as much as it should be persuasive.“If your chores aren’t done by 4 pm，then no video game time until chores are done.And if finishing those chores runs into homework time，that’s going to be your loss.”On the other hand，when dealing with homework，keep it very simple.Have a time when homework starts，and at that time，all electronics go off and do not go back on until you see that their homework is done.If your kids say they have no homework，then they should use that time to study or read.Either way，there should be a time set aside when the electronics are off.

　 When a kid wears his iPod or headphones when you’re trying to talk to him，make no bones about it；he is not ignoring you，he is disrespecting you.At that point，everything else should stop until he takes the earplugs out of his ears.Don’t try to communicate with him when he’s wearing headphones—even if he tells you he can hear you.Wearing them while you’re talking to him is a sign of disrespect.Parents should be very tough about this kind of thing.Remember，mutual respect becomes more important as children mature.

1.According to the passage，it seldom happens that　　　　 .

　 A.kids turn a deaf ear to their parents’ requests

　 B.parents’ directions sound like a broken record

　 C.children are ready to follow their parents’ directions　

　 D.parents are unaware of what they are repeating to their kids

2.Parents will be able to deal with their children more effectively if they　　　　 .

　 A.avoid direct ways of punishment

　 B.make them do things at their request

　 C.argue and fight with their children

　 D.allow their children to behave in their own way

3.When the kid is doing his homework，parents　　　　 .

　 A.should provide him with a good learning environment

　 B.can do whatever they like

　 C.can stay aside watching TV

　 D.must switch off the power

4.It can be inferred from the passage that　　　　 .

　 A.parents should take off his headphones when trying to have a talk with their child

　 B.it will make no difference that a kid is wearing his earplugs while talking to his parents

　 C.parents shouldn’t give in to their kid when he shows no sign of respect

　 D.kids’ purposely talking to their parents with iPod gives them a sense of power and control

5.The main idea of the passage is　　　　 .

　 A.that respecting each other is more important than anything else

　 B.how kids behave to ignore and disrespect their parents

　 C.that children should make choices and decisions on their own

　 D.how parents can deal with their kids’ behavior effectively