One day I heard that one of my dear friends had lost his mother. This made me sad, for my friend was very close to his mother. He had been by her side as she traveled through her long and hard journey with cancer. At this time, many memories about my loved ones that had passed away came flooding to me. Finally these memories passed, but it was really sad to think that my friend would have to go through the pain.
Three times I tried to write an email to my friend and three times words failed me. I am a person who is not often lost for words and I decided to have a sleep. Upon waking up I could hardly wait for my computer to work, the words I needed were there. I was still left with a heavy heart although I had sent an email.
They say that everything in this universe is balanced(平衡的) and indeed it is. Three days later, I received his reply letter. I was happy to hear that he’d been admitted to(录取) Cambridge University. It served as a gentle reminder for me that my friend would be okay and that life would go on.
Everything in life is balanced; the lowest feelings change places with the highest feelings. Without the lows, we would never appreciate the highs. No matter how dark the clouds seem to be, the sunshine is always there and just waiting for the opportunity to shine through.
【小题1】When the author learnt her friend had lost his mother, she ______.

One day I heard that one of my dear friends had lost his mother. This made me sad, for my friend was very close to his mother. He had been by her side as she traveled through her long and hard journey with cancer. At this time, many memories about my loved ones that had passed away came flooding to me. Finally these memories passed, but it was really sad to think that my friend would have to go through the pain.

Three times I tried to write an email to my friend and three times words failed me. I am a person who is not often lost for words and I decided to have a sleep. Upon waking up I could hardly wait for my computer to work, the words I needed were there. I was still left with a heavy heart although I had sent an email.

Everything in this universe is balanced and indeed it is. Three days later, I received his reply letter. I was happy to hear that he’d been admitted to (录取) Cambridge University. It served as a gentle reminder for me that my friend would be okay and that life would go on.

Everything in life is balanced; the lowest feelings change places with the highest feelings. Without the lows, we would never appreciate the highs. No matter how dark the clouds seem to be, the sunshine is always there and just waiting for the opportunity to shine through.

1. When the author learnt her friend had lost his mother, she ______.

A．gave him some money

B．wrote an email to him

C．went to visit him

D．went for a journey with him

2.What good news did the author’s friend receive?

A．He received the author’s email.

B．He was told that life would go on.

C．He would go to Cambridge University.

D．His life would go back to normal again

3. Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?

A．The author wrote four emails to her friend.

B．The mother of the author’s friend died from cancer.

C．The author’s friend is a teacher in Cambridge University.

D．The author felt relaxed after sending the email.

4. From the text, we can learn that the author is ______.

A．sincere and warm-hearted

B．proud and confident

C．serious and friendly

D．funny and responsible

5. The author aims to tell us that ______.

A．life is not fair to everybody

B．time waits for no man

C．everyone has good and bad times in life

D．where there is a will, there is a way

Should we try to contact and make friends with other beings in the universe? Certainly not，says British physicist Stephen Hawking．
“If aliens（creatures from other planets）ever visit us, I think the outcome would be much as when Christopher Columbus first landed in America, which didn’t turn out very well for the Native Americans,’’ said the 68-year-old disabled scientist in a new Discovery documentary (纪实性电视节目) on April 25．
The program pictures an imagined universe where other life forms in huge spaceships hunt for resources after using up all those on their home planets．
“Such advanced aliens would perhaps become nomads(游牧民)，looking to conquer and colonize whatever planets they can reach，”warned Hawking．
On the probability of other life forms existing, he says, “To my mathematical brain, the numbers alone make thinking about aliens perfectly reasonable.”
Hawking’s concerns have frightened some people and been met with disagreement from other researchers．Paul Davies, author of the book Renewing Our Search for Alien Intelligence，thinks Hawking’s reasoning is wrong.
He argues that since Earth is about 4.5 billion years old，if intel1igent life is likely , communities of other beings may have been there for a very long time．
“If resources are the factor, then at least one group of aliens would surely have visited Earth as a destination mil1ions of years ago．
Even if other life forms do come to Earth in the near future, Davies believes comparisons with are wide of the mark(离谱的).
68. What is the article mainly about? 
A. Other life forms coming to our planet．
B. Scientific evidence of other life forms．
C. Earth as the only place where human beings can survive．
D. Hawking’s belief that other life forms may exist in the universe．
69. Which of the following ideas is opposed to Hawking’s view?
A. Other life forms exist in the universe．
B. 0ther life forms may be more intelligent than human beings．
C. We should try to contact other 1ife forms from other planets．
D. Other life forms may exist in more than one part of the universe．
70. Paul Davies didn’t agree with Stephen Hawking ,believing that ________．
A. the universe is running out of resources
B. humans are the best creatures in the universe.
C. it is a good idea to avoid meeting with other life forms   
D. Davies doesn’t think it proper to compare aliens with Columbus
71. Hawking referred to Christopher Columbus as an example to ____．
A. inspire interest in the universe      
B. draw attention to other planets in the universe
C. warn people to watch out for other life forms
D. urge further exploration of the universe~

One day I heard that one of my dear friends had lost his mother. This made me sad, for my friend was very close to his mother. He had been by her side as she traveled through her long and hard journey with cancer. At this time, many memories about my loved ones that had passed away came flooding to me. Finally these memories passed, but it was really sad to think that my friend would have to go through the pain.

Three times I tried to write an email to my friend and three times words failed me. I am a person who is not often lost for words and I decided to have a sleep. Upon waking up I could hardly wait for my computer to work, the words I needed were there. I was still left with a heavy heart although I had sent an email.

Everything in this universe is balanced and indeed it is. Three days later, I received his reply letter. I was happy to hear that he’d been admitted to (录取) Cambridge University. It served as a gentle reminder for me that my friend would be okay and that life would go on.

Everything in life is balanced; the lowest feelings change places with the highest feelings. Without the lows, we would never appreciate the highs. No matter how dark the clouds seem to be, the sunshine is always there and just waiting for the opportunity to shine through.

1. When the author learnt her friend had lost his mother, she ______.

A．gave him some money

B．wrote an email to him

C．went to visit him

D．went for a journey with him

2. What good news did the author’s friend receive?

A．He received the author’s email.

B．He was told that life would go on.

C．He would go to Cambridge University.

D．His life would go back to normal again

3.Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?

A．The author wrote four emails to her friend.

B．The mother of the author’s friend died from cancer.

C．The author’s friend is a teacher in Cambridge University.

D．The author felt relaxed after sending the email.

4.From the text, we can learn that the author is ______.

A．sincere and warm-hearted

B．proud and confident

C．serious and friendly

D．funny and responsible

5. The author aims to tell us that ______.

A．life is not fair to everybody

B．time waits for no man

C．everyone has good and bad times in life

D．where there is a will, there is a way

The Mysterious Universe

By Ellen Jackson and Nic Bishop

How did the universe begin? How big is it? What is dark matter? Cosmologist（宇宙哲学家）and expert supernova（超新星）hunter Alex Filippenko hopes that supernovas can help us answer some of these questions. But first we’ve got to find them! Join Alex and his team as they go on the hunt with huge telescopes and banks of computers.

The Time and Space of Uncle Albert

By Russell Stannard

What would you say if your uncle asked you whether you would like to go into space? You’d say, “When do I leave?”, just like the girl in this story. Gedanken is speeding across the universe trying to help her uncle answer some questions, such as “How big is space?” and “Where does gravity come from?” Along the way she also discovers how to get heavier without getting fat, how to live forever without knowing it, and the strange things that can happen when you go really fast.

George’s Secret Key to the Universe

By Lucy Hawking and Stephen Hawking

When George chases his pet pig through a hole in the fence, little does he expect that he will soon be riding a comet（彗星）around Saturn（土星）. But just as he discovers the joys of space exploration with the computer Cosmos, which can open doors anywhere in the universe, everything starts to go wrong. When George’s lest-favorite teacher steals Cosmos and traps his friend’s dad in a black hole, can George set things right in time?

A Child’s Introduction to the Night Sky

By Michael Driscoll

With a telescope or without one, this book can get you started exploring planets, stars and even strange stuff like time, space, and black holes. The universe is a big place, but this book comes with a handy star finder that you can take out with you at night to help you find your way around the stars. Look up and discover the universe!

1.According to the text, Alex Filippenko ______.

A. invented huge telescopes

B. is looking for supernovas

C. doesn’t need many computers

D. knows a lot about dark matter

2.What do we know about George’s Secret Key to the Universe？

A. It is a sad story

B. It is about a pet pig

C. It is a co-authored book

D. It is based on a real life story.

3.Which book would you read if you want to know about gravity?

A. The Mysterious Universe

B. The Time and Space of Uncle Albert

C. George’s Secret Key to the Universe

D. A Child’s Introduction to the Night Sky.

4.What do the four books have in common?

A. They have the same topics?

B. They are intended for adults.

C. They have the same number of characters

D. They leave many questions to the readers