Unless we spend money spotting and preventing asteroids(小行星) now, one might crash into Early and destroy life as we know it, say some scientists.

Asteroids are bigger versions of the meteoroids(流星) that race across the night sky. Most orbit the sun far from Earth and don’t threaten us. But there are also thousands of asteroids whose orbits put them on a collision course with Earth.

Buy $50 million worth of new telescopes right now. Then spend $10 million a year for the next 25 years to locate most of the space rocks. By the time we spot a fatal one, the scientists say, we’ll have a way to change its course.

Some scientists favor pushing asteroids off course with nuclear weapons.  But the cost wouldn’t be cheap. Is is worth it? Two things experts consider when judging any risk are: (1)How likely the event is; and (2) How bad the consequences if the event occurs. Experts think an asteroid big enough to destroy lots of life might strike Earth once every 500 000 years. Sounds pretty rare-but if one did fall, it would be the end of the world. “If we don’t take care of these asteroids, they’ll take care of us,”says one scientist.  “It’s that simple.”

 The cure, though, might be worse than the disease. Do we really want fleets of nuclear weapons sitting around on Earth? “The world has less to fear from doomsday(世界末日) rocks than from a great nuclear fleet set against it,” said a New York Times article.

9.What does the passage say about asteroids and meteoroids?

A.They are heavenly bodies different in composition.

  B.They are heavenly bodies similar in nature.

C.There are more asteroids than meteoroids.

D.Asteroids are more mysterious than meteoroids.

10.What do scientists say about the collision of an asteroid with Earth?

A.It is very unlikely but the danger exists.

B.Such a collision might occur once every 25 years.

C.Coilisions of smaller asteroids with Earth occur more often than expected.

  D.lt’s still too early to say whether such a collision might occur.

11.What do people think of the suggestion of using nuclear weapons to alter the course of asteroids?

A.It sounds practical but it may not solve the problem.

B.It may create more problems than it might slove.

C.It is a waste of money because a collision of asteroids with Earth is very unlikely.

D.Further research should be done before it is proved applicable.

12.We can conclude from the passage that .      

A.while pushing asteroids off course nuclear weapons would destroy the world

B.asteroids racing across the night sky are likely to hit Earth in the near future

C.the worry about asteroids can be left to future generations since it is unlike to happen in our    lifetime.

D.workable solutions still have to be found to prevent a collision of asteroids with Earth

When I was a kid, my brother dropped the bomb: "No Santa Claus （Father Christmas）!" I fled to Grandma because I knew she would   36   me the truth．I told her everything．"No!" she said．"Ridiculous! Don' t   37   it．"

       After dinner, we went to General Store．Grandma handed me ten   38   ．"Take it and buy something for whoever needs it．I'll wait in the   39   ．" I' d often gone shopping with Mother, but never had I shopped   40   ．For moments, I stood there, confused,   41   what to do with it．I thought of everybody I knew．  42   I thought of Bobbie Decker．His mother always wrote a note, telling the teacher that he had a cough．We all knew that Bobbie would have no cough   43   he had a thicker coat．So I decided to buy Bobbie one．"Is this a present for   44  ?" the saleslady asked me kindly．I   45   shyly．She smiled, handed it to me and wished me a merry Christmas．Then Grandma helped me wrap the coat in Santa Claus   46  and ribbons and write "To Bobbie, From Santa Claus " on it．Then she   47   me over to Bobbie's house．Grandma parked down the street from Bobbie' s house．We   48   noiselessly and hid in the   49   by his front walk．"All right, Santa Claus," she   50   ,"get going．" I rushed out, threw the present down at his front door,   51   his doorbell and flew back to the safety．Together we   52   breathlessly in the darkness for the front door to open．

       Forty years I haven' t forgotten those   53   I spent shivering （颤抖）in Bobbie' s bushes．That night, I realized that the stories about Santa Clause were really ridiculous ．Santa Claus was alive,  54  we were on his  55  ．

A．tell           B．teach       C．take            D．advise

A．remember     B．believe     C．understand      D．consider

A．bags          B．keys      C．coats           D．dollars

A．home          B．store        C．car             D．bus

A．separately      B．apart        C．singly           D．alone

A．wondering     B．worrying  C．expecting        D．looking -

A．Luckily        B．SurprisinglyC．Suddenly       D．Firstly

A．unless         B．since     C．as              D．if

A．anyone       B．someone   C．others           D．another

A．nodded        B．smiled      C．replied          D．denied

A．gift           B．name     C．paper         D．needle

A．sent           B．drove           C．walked         D．guided

A．stole          B．struggled  C．stepped         D．searched

A．cars ．       B．buildings  C．stairs           D．bushes

A．sighed         B．whispered C．called           D．shouted

A．knocked       B．pushed      C．pounded         D．switched．

A．rushed         B．laughed    C．paused          D．waited

A．nights        B．feelings    C．moments        D．bills

A．and           B．but        C．then          D．therefore

A．side           B．team       C．part           D．staff

Unless we spend money to spot and prevent asteroids now，one might crash into Earth and destroy life as we know it，say some scientists.
Asteroids are bigger versions of the meteoroids(流星)that race across the night sky. Most orbit the sun far from Earth and don't threaten us. But there are also thousands whose orbits put them on a collision course with Earth.
Buy $ 50 million worth of new telescopes right now. Then spend $ 10 million a year for the next 25 years to locate most of the space rocks. By the time we spot a fatal one，the scientists say，we'll have a way to change its course.
Some scientists favor pushing asteroids off course with nuclear weapons. But the cost wouldn't be cheap. Is it worth it? Two things experts consider when judging any risk are: 1) How likely the event is; and 2) How bad the consequences if the event occurs. Experts think an asteroid big enough to destroy lots of life might strike Earth once every 500,000 years. Sounds pretty rare-but if one did fall，it would be the end of the world. “If we don't take care of these big asteroids，they'll take care of us,” says one scientist. “It's that simple.”
The cure，though，might be worse than the disease. Do we really want fleets of nuclear weapons sitting around on Earth? “The world has less to fear from doomsday(毁灭性的) rocks than from a great nuclear fleet set against them，” said a New York Times article.
【小题1】What does the passage say about asteroids and meteoroids?

A．They are heavenly bodies different in composition.

B．They are heavenly bodies similar in nature.

C．There are more asteroids than meteoroids.

D．Asteroids are more mysterious than meteoroids.

When someone takes shoes to a shop to be mended, he is given a ticket with a number on it. Then,  21 his shoes are ready, he goes back to the shop, gives the ticket to the shoemaker, gets his shoes and  22  for them.

One day Mrs. Smith gave her husband a  23 of her shoes which needed mending and asked him to  24 them to the shop. Mr. Smith did so, and put the  25 for them in his pocket.

He went back four days  26 to get the shoes,  27 when he went into the shop, he was not able to find his ticket  28 ,and the shoemaker did not want to give him the  29 until he got the ticket.

“How do I know that the shoes are  30 unless you give me the ticket?” he said. “If I give them to you now, somebody  31 may come into my shop with the ticket tomorrow, and then I shall not be able to give him the shoes.”

Mrs. Smith needed the shoes very much, so her husband  32 for a moment and then went out to his  33 , which was at the side of the road   34 the shop. He  35 the door, and whistled（耳语）to his wife’s small  36 , which was sitting on the back seat. Then he went back into the shop and  37 it, “Get the shoes!” The dog began to  38 around the shop, and soon it found Mrs. Smith’s shoes and brought them to Mr. Smith one after the  39 .

“That should prove（证明）that they are my wife’s.” Mr. Smith said.

The shoemaker  40  and then he gave the shoes to Mr. Smith.

1.                A．before         B．when          C．since D．unless

2.                A．cares          B．looks           C．pays D．waits

3.                A．pair           B．set            C．kind D．piece

4.                A．show          B．change         C．lead D．take

5.                A．bill            B．paper          C．ticket D．list

6.                A．late            B．later           C．ago  D．long

7.                A．but            B．because        C．and  D．or

8.                A．everywhere     B．anywhere       C．nowhere  D．somewhere

9.                A．return         B．idea            C．shoes    D．answer

10.               A．what           B．whose         C．where D．yours

11.               A．else           B．some          C．every D．all

12.               A．worried        B．cried          C．thought   D．hoped

13.               A．train           B．bus            C．boat  D．car

14.               A．inside          B．outside         C．up   D．round

15.               A．opened        B．closed         C．broke D．built

16.               A．clock          B．dog            C．cat   D．hen

17.               A．said to         B．replied         C．answered  D．talked

18.               A．hear           B．taste           C．smell D．see

19.               A．each           B．once           C．any   D．other

20.               A．surprised       B．frightened      C．cried out  D．laughed

When you think of American culture, what first comes to your mind? McDonald’s? Coca Cola? Levi’s? Disneyland? Michael Jordan? Julia Roberts? Many people   1  American culture is a   2 of popular symbols like these. Actually, these symbols are only one    3  part of American culture—pop culture.

What is pop culture? Well, pop is   4   for popular. The origins of pop culture can often be traced to popular movies, television shows, music stars and sports figures. Pop culture is   5  promoted by business and advertising. The most   6  examples of American pop culture appear among high school and college students. Trends (趋势)   7  by famous personalities quickly become part of young people’s    8 .

American pop culture has spread around the world. One major reason for its   9  is that English is a universal language. English is the language of diplomacy, international business and transportation.   10  language and culture go together, learning English means becoming   11  of English-speaking cultures. Besides, America is a world   12  in movies, music and magazines. The kind of American culture   13  in those media is pop culture. Finally, pop culture is easy to package and to   14 . For that reason, it is easy to “sell” to the world.

Many people believe that American pop culture is what American is all   15  . Does pop culture   16   the true culture of America? Yes and no. Pop culture does  17  a portion (比例) of American society — especially the   18  young people that are tuned in to the media. But American pop culture is faddish (流行一时的) and    19   . If you want to learn about real American culture, you’ll have to go a little    20    than McDonald’s.

1.                A．wonder        B．imagine         C．wish D．pretend

2.                A．behavior        B．signal          C．side D．collection

3.                A．small           B．large           C．main D．super

4.                A．good           B．eager          C．known   D．short

5.                A．never          B．only           C．also  D．just

6.                A．famous         B．common        C．obvious   D．helpful

7.                A．set            B．pushed         C．ignored   D．caused

8.                A．hobbies        B．taste           C．admiration D．lifestyles

9.                A．tendency       B．popularity       C．influence D．preference

10.               A．Although       B．Unless         C．How  D．Since

11.               A．aware          B．fond           C．careful    D．tired

12.               A．driver          B．worker         C．leader D．officer

13.               A．written         B．communicated   C．described  D．taught

14.               A．discuss         B．display         C．copy  D．export

15.               A．for            B．about          C．above D．against

16.               A．reflect         B．pay            C．form  D．affect

17.               A．combine        B．follow          C．represent  D．demand

18.               A．urban          B．rural           C．quiet D．diligent

19.               A．difficult        B．simple         C．ever-changing  D．ever-lasting

20.               A．slower         B．farther         C．nearer    D．higher