You never see him, but they’re with you every time you fly. They record where you are going, how fast you’re traveling and whether everything on your airplane is functioning normally. Their ability to withstand almost any disaster makes them seem like something out of a comic book. They’re known as the black box.

　When planes fall from the sky, as a Yemeni airliner did on its way to Comoros Islands in the India ocean June 30, 2009, the black box is the best bet for identifying what went wrong. So when a French submarine (潜水艇) detected the device’s homing signal five days later, the discovery marked a huge step toward determining the cause of a tragedy in which 152 passengers were killed.

　In 1958, Australian scientist David Warren developed a flight-memory recorder that would track basic information like altitude and direction. That was the first mode for a black box, which became a requirement on all U.S. commercial flights by 1960. Early models often failed to withstand crashes, however, so in 1965 the device was completely redesigned and moved to the rear of the plane – the area least subject to impact – from its original position in the landing wells (起落架舱). The same year, the Federal Aviation Authority required that the boxes, which were never actually black, be painted orange or yellow to aid visibility.

　Modern airplanes have two black boxes: a voice recorder, which tracks pilots’ conversations, and a flight-data recorder, which monitors fuel levels, engine noises and other operating functions that help investigators reconstruct the aircraft’s final moments. Placed in an insulated (隔绝的) case and surrounded by a quarter-inch-thick panels of stainless steel, the boxes can withstand（抵挡）massive force and temperatures up to 2,000℉. When submerged（潜入水中）, they’re also able to emit signals from depths of 20,000 ft. Experts believe the boxes from Air France Flight 447, which crashed near Brazil on June 1,2009, are in water nearly that deep, but statistics say they’re still likely to turn up. In the approximately 20 deep-sea crashes over the past 30 years, only one plane’s black boxes were never recovered.

1.What does the author say about the black box?

2.. What information could be found from the black box on the Yemeni airliner?

3. Why was the black box redesigned in 1965?

4. What do we know about the black boxes from Air France Flight 447?

The US space agency NASA is looking for people to go to Mars, and stay there. This attractive career is for people who want a huge change of scenery and planet. The project is called the Hundred Years Starship, which aims to colonize (开拓殖民地) other lands such as the red planet Mars.

Settlers would travel to the red planet and live there forever. NASA says it would be too expensive to bring humans back to Earth. The space agency can afford, however, to send supplies to the astronaut pioneers from Earth. Astronauts would be landed on the planet's surface and would never be able to return home due to the cost.

NASA has started the project with $1.6 million, and hopes to attract investment from space-living billionaires. Google co-founder Larry Page told NASA he would be interested if the cost of a one-way ticket can go down from $10 billion to $2 billion.

The journey to Mars could take 4 months. Setting on the red planet would be extremely dangerous, especially given the freezing temperatures there. The thin atmosphere would be another problem as it is mostly carbon dioxide, so oxygen supplies are a must. A director in NASA said that he believed the trip might start with visiting Mars's moons first. He claimed that humans could be on Mars's moons by 2030.

Many scientists think colonizing space is absolutely necessary. Steven Hawking believes we must move to other planets to survive as a species. He said: “Once we spread out into space and establish independent colonies, our future should be safe.” Scientists Dirk' Schulze-Makuch and Paul Davies also call it a “desirable goal”, though there surely are huge risks to explore new lands.

1.Which of the following is TRUE about the Hundred Years Starship?

A．It has cost NASA around $10 billion.

B．It is expected to be conducted on Mars in 2030.

C．It aims to explore new lands in the universe.

D．It is a project first raise by Steven Hawking.

2.We can infer from the passage that Google co-founder Larry Page _______.

A．used to be an astronaut                  B．is no longer rich now

C．is a fan of space travel                    D．is a generous man

3.What would be the best title for the passage?

A．One-way trip to Mars

B．Mars's another moon is found.

C．Human landing on Mars.

D．NASA's first cooperation with Google.

This Teaching Assistant Level 3 course is designed for people who either are, or wish to become a teaching assistant. Teaching assistants carry out their tasks under the direction of the class teacher. This is a fully supported home study course, and the help is available whenever you need it --- either online or over the phone. There is a huge demand for teaching assistants around the country but also many thousands of applicants for these positions. Having this Teaching Assistant Level 3 qualification will help you stand out from other applicants. Our Level 3 Teaching Assistant course is similar to the NVQ (National Vocational Qualification) Level 3 because it is an equivalent (同等的) level of learning.

The teaching assistant is able to contribute in four main areas:

Supporting the teacher

Supporting the pupil

Supporting the school

Supporting the curriculum

The salary a teaching assistant is expected to earn a year:

London fringe (外围):￡16,856 - ￡26,052

Outer London: ￡18,789 - ￡27,992

Inner London: ￡19,893 - ￡29,088

Rest of England and Wales: ￡15,817 - ￡25,016

The fee and the time of enrolment (入学)

Enroll for only a ￡35 deposit. Teaching Assistant Level 3 is only ￡345. To help you on your way towards achieving your qualification, we are offering all of our potential students a ￡115 reduction in their enrolment fees for June. The normal fee for this course is ￡460 but for this month it has been reduced to only ￡345. There has never been a better time to start learning and take that first step towards a brighter future!

100% money back guarantee, if you are not satisfied. That’s why we’ll happily give you your money back on any course returned within 7 days. It’s easy for you to enroll now by telephone 01223 923 913. You can get free friendly help and advice from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm, on Monday to Friday. Call 01223 923 915.

1.How can people study this Teaching Assistant Level 3 course?

A．Go to the night school.

B．Go to the full-time school.

C．Study at home at any time.

D．Study at weekends or vacations.

2.What’s the teaching assistant’s task?

A．Listening to the teacher’s lecture all the time.

B．Only helping teachers prepare their lessons.

C．Helping promote effective learning and teaching.

D．Often giving lessons in place of the formal teacher.

3.If a teacher assistant earns ￡28,000 a year , he probably works in ______.

A．downtown Wales                       B．the fringe of London

C．outer London                          D．downtown London

4.How much should you pay in June if you have paid the deposit?

A．￡35             B．￡310            C．￡345            D．￡460