By the Internet, we can c_____________ with people all over the world.

The world is not coming to an end on December 21st, 2012, the US space agency announced to dispel （消除）widespread rumors fueled by the Internet and a new Hollywood movie．
The latest big screen 2012 was based on stories according to the Mayan calendar．It showed that by the end of 2012, a Planet X will collide （碰撞） with the earth．
Some websites accuse NASA of hiding the truth on the planet's existence, but the US space agency considered such stories as tricks．"There is no basis in fact for these claims," NASA said in its website．"If such a collision were real, scientists would have been tracking it for at least the last decade, and we would see it with our eyes now．Obviously, it doesn't exist and there will be no threat to the earth in 2012," it insisted．"After all, our planet has been getting along just well for more than four billion years," added NASA．
There is another planet, Eris, floating in space．But the small planet will remain safely fixed in the outer solar system and it can come no closer than four billion miles to the earth, according to NASA．
And even if the planets were to line up as some have forecast, the effect on our plant would be very little．"And while comets and asteroids （小行星） have always hit the earth, big hits are very rare," NASA noted．The last major collision was believed to be 65 million years ago, resulting the end of dinosaurs （恐龙）．
"We are sure that there are no threatening asteroids as large as the one that killed the dinosaurs," the space agency said．
【小题1】What played a key role in the spread of the rumors?

The world is not coming to an end on December 21st, 2012, the US space agency announced to dispel （消除）widespread rumors fueled by the Internet and a new Hollywood movie．

The latest big screen 2012 was based on stories according to the Mayan calendar．It showed that by the end of 2012, a Planet X will collide （碰撞） with the earth．

Some websites accuse NASA of hiding the truth on the planet's existence, but the US space agency considered such stories as tricks．"There is no basis in fact for these claims," NASA said in its website．"If such a collision were real, scientists would have been tracking it for at least the last decade, and we would see it with our eyes now．Obviously, it doesn't exist and there will be no threat to the earth in 2012," it insisted．"After all, our planet has been getting along just well for more than four billion years," added NASA．

There is another planet, Eris, floating in space．But the small planet will remain safely fixed in the outer solar system and it can come no closer than four billion miles to the earth, according to NASA．

And even if the planets were to line up as some have forecast, the effect on our plant would be very little．"And while comets and asteroids （小行星） have always hit the earth, big hits are very rare," NASA noted．The last major collision was believed to be 65 million years ago, resulting the end of dinosaurs （恐龙）．

"We are sure that there are no threatening asteroids as large as the one that killed the dinosaurs," the space agency said．

1.What played a key role in the spread of the rumors?

    A．The Internet and the film 2012．             B．The Mayan calendar．

    C．The US space agency．                    D．The television screen．

2.The underlined word "it" in Paragraph 3 probably refers to _________.

    A．the collision       B．the threat        C．the Planet X     D．the NASA website

3.We can conclude from the passage that __________.

    A．the film 2012 is well accepted in the science field

    B．scientists have been tracking Planet X for over ten years

    C．the earth will exist for more than four billion years

    D．the rumors caused a panic among some people

4.What do we know about Eris according to the passage?

    A．It doesn't exist in the universe．          

B．It won't threaten the earth．

    C．It is too far to be seen．                   

D．It is similar to the earth.

The world is not coming to an end on December 21st, 2012, the US space agency announced to dispel （消除） widespread rumors fueled by the Internet and a new Hollywood movie．

The latest big screen 2012 was based on stories according to the Mayan calendar．It showed that by the end of 2012, a Planet X will collide （碰撞） with the earth．

Some websites accuse NASA of hiding the truth on the planet's existence, but the US space agency considered such stories as tricks．"There is no basis in fact for these claims," NASA said in its website．"If such a collision were real, scientists would have been tracking it for at least the last decade, and we would see it with our eyes now．Obviously, it doesn't exist and there will be no threat to the earth in 2012," it insisted．"After all, our planet has been getting along just well for more than four billion years," added NASA．

There is another planet, Eris, floating in space．But the small planet will remain safely fixed in the outer solar system and it can come no closer than four billion miles to the earth, according to NASA．

And even if the planets were to line up as some have forecast, the effect on our plant would be very little．"And while comets and asteroids （小行星） have always hit the earth, big hits are very rare," NASA noted．The last major collision was believed to be 65 million years ago, resulting the end of dinosaurs （恐龙）．

"We are sure that there are no threatening asteroids as large as the one that killed the dinosaurs," the space agency said．

1.．What played a key role in the spread of the rumors?

    A．The Internet and the film 2012．                        

B．The Mayan calendar．

    C．The US space agency．                                   

D．The television screen．

2.．The underlined word "it" in Paragraph Three probably refers to _     ___．

    A．the collision                        B．the Planet X

    C．the threat                           D．the NASA website

3.．We can conclude from the passage that __    __．

    A．the film 2012 is well accepted in the science field

    B．scientists have been tracking Planet X for over ten years

    C．the earth will exist for more than four billion years

    D．the rumors caused a panic among some people

4.．What do we know about Eris according to the passage?

    A．It doesn't exist in the universe．                      

B．It won't threaten the earth．

    C．It is too far to be seen．                              

D．It is similar to the earth.

The world is not coming to an end on December 21, 2012, the US space agency insisted Monday in a rare campaign to remove widespread rumors fueled by the Internet and a new Hollywood movie.

The latest big screen offering from Sony Picture, 2012, arrives in theaters on Friday, with a 200 milliondollar production about the end of the world supposedly based on myths (虚构的故事) backed by the Mayan calendar. It is claimed that the end of time will come as a Planet X — or Nibiru — heads toward or collides with the Earth.

Some websites accuse NASA of hiding the truth on the planet’s existence, but the US space agency denounced (公然抨击) such stories as an “Internet hoax(恶作剧) ”. “There is no factual basis for these claims，” NASA said in a question and answer posting on its website. “If such a collision were real, astronomers would have been tracking it for at least the past decade, and it would be visible by now to the naked eye. Obviously, it does not exist. Credible scientists worldwide know of no threat associated with 2012，” it insisted. “After all, our planet has been getting along just well for more than four billion years，” added NASA.

There is another planet, Eris, floating in space. But the small planet similar to Pluto (冥王星) will remain safely fixed in the outer solar system and it can come no closer than four billion miles to the Earth, according to NASA.

Initial theories set the disaster for May 2003, but when nothing happened the date was moved forward to the winter in 2012 to coincide (同时发生) with the end of a cycle of the ancient Mayan calendar.

NASA insisted the Mayan calendar in fact does not end on December 21, 2012, as another period begins immediately afterward. And even if the planets were to line up as some have forecast, the effect on our planet would be “negligible” (微不足道的)， NASA said.

“And while comets and asteroids (小行星) have always hit the Earth, big hits are very rare，” NASA noted. The last major impact was believed to be 65 million years ago，resulting in the end of dinosaurs.

“We have already determined that there are no threatening asteroids as large as the one that killed the dinosaurs，” the space agency said.

56．________played a key role in the spread of the rumors.

A. A new book                                            B. The Internet and a new Hollywood movie

C. NASA                                                     D. An Indian calendar

57．The film 2012 is________.

A. about the end of the world                     B. based on the scientific prediction

C. well accepted in the science field          D. about a romantic love story

58．We can infer that________.

A. people didn’t take the rumor seriously  

B. Planet X — or Nibiru does exist

C. astronomers have been tracking Planet X for over ten years

D. the rumor caused a panic among some people

59．NASA thinks that Eris________.

A. might cause a threat to the Earth              B. doesn’t cause any threat to the Earth

C. is too far away to be visible                      D. is similar to our planet, where life might exist

60. Which of the following is the best title?

A. New Hollywood movie 2012                   B. December 21, 2012, NOT the end of the world

C. End of the ancient Mayan calendar          D. How rumors came into being