--What were you doing when Tony phoned you?

　　--I had just finished my work and _____ to take a shower.

[　　]

A．had started　　　　　　B．started

C．have started　　　　　　D．was starting

　　　 Since the beginning of time, man has been interested in the moon．The Romans designed a special day to show admiration and respect to the moon．They called it “Monday”, or “Monday”, as we know it today．Later, the great mind of Leonardo da Vinci studied the moon and designed a machine to carry a human to the moon．Leonardo said that one day a great machine bird would take a person to the moon and bring great honour to the home where it was born．

　　　 Four and a half centuries later, Leonardo’s idea was realized．Apollo Ⅱ took three Americans Collins, Aldrin, and Armstrong to the moon．The mission (任务) did fill the whole world with great surprise, as Leonardo had said it would．Numerous (many) essays, articles, and books were written about man’s first moon mission．But perhaps the most interesting story was one written before the event over 100 years before．

　　　 In 1865, French author Jules Verne wrote a story about the first journey to the moon．His story was very similar to the 1969 Apollo Ⅱ mission．

　　　 Verne’s spacecraft also contained three men—two Americans and a Frenchman．The spacecraft was described as being almost the same size as Apollo Ⅱ．The launch (发射) site in Verne’s story was also in Florida．The spacecraft in Verne’s story was named the “Columbiad”．The Apollo Ⅱ command ship was called “Columbia”．His account description of sending the spacecraft into the space could easily have been written about how Apollo Ⅱ was sent into the space．

　　　 Verne’s story was the same as the actual event in several other respects (方面)．The speed of Verne’s spacecraft was 36,000 feet per second; Apollo’s was 35,533 feet per second．Verne’s spacecraft took 97 hours to reach the moon; Apollo’s time was 103 hours．Like Apollo’s spacemen, Verne’s spacemen took pictures of the moon’s surface, relaxed on their seats, cooked with gas, and experienced weightlessness．They two came down in the Pacific and were picked up by an American warship．

　　　 What were the reasons for Jules Verne’s extreme accuracy (精确) in describing an event 100 years or more before it actually occurred? He based his writings on the laws of physics and astronomy．Nineteenth-century science and the vivid (clear) Verne’s imagination gave people an unbelievably accurate (exact) prediction of one of the greatest events of the 20th century．

72．Jules Verne wrote his story of a man’s visit to the moon about _________．

A．100 years before the Apollo Ⅱ mission　　　　 B．10 years before the Apollo Ⅱ mission

C．four and one half centuries ago D．100 years ago

73．Verne’s story about the first journey to the moon is very similar to _________．

A．the second US space mission B．the Apollo Ⅱ mission

C．Leonardo da Vinci’s story D．numerous other books on the same subject

74．The passage suggests that Jules Verne _________．

A．developed the laws of physics　　　

B．based his writings on the works of Leonardo da Vinci

C．was very lucky in what he had described about the future

D．knew a great deal about the laws of physics and astronomy

75．The passage mainly describes _________．

A．the rapid progress of mankind B．Verne’s accurate prediction of the future

C．the 1969 Apollo Ⅱ moon mission D．the 19th century science and technology

　　What were you up to when she dropped in?

　　I ________ for a while and ________ some reading.

[　　]

　　   Captain Nash may have been the first to see such orange lights but he wasn’t the last. His experience was repeated many times by pilots during World War Ⅱ both in Europe and Far East.

　　   What were they? No one knows for sure, but there is an interesting theory to explain them. According to this theory, the orange lights are space animals---animals specially adapted to(适应于)life in the upper atmosphere just as some living things are adapted to life at the bottom of the sea.

　　   These space animals, the theory says, live so far up in the atmosphere that they are not in sight from the earth. They feed partly in the air and partly on energy from the sunlight. Being almost pure energy themselves, their bodies can shine at night. During the day they became invisible.

　　   Before World War Ⅱ, continues the theory, there was little radiated energy on the earth’s surface. Then came the development of rockets, nuclear power stations and something like that. The space animals are attracted to these kinds of energy of food. At night when there is no energy from the sunlight, they come down into the lower levels in search of a meal. They may even float into the range(范围)of human eyesight. This explains the fact that they have been sighted many times from the earth since 1943.

1. The main idea of this passage is that 　　  .

A. Captain Nash saw twelve orange lights traveling at a great speed

B. Captain Nash may have been the first to see lights in space

C. the orange lights are space animals according to a theory

D. the secret of nature can all be fully explained

2. The theory says that during the daytime the space animals

A. shine brightly in the sky

B. cannot be seen

C. can be in sight now and then

D. visit the earth’s surface

3. If the space animal theory is correct, the orange lights come down to the lower levels in order to 　　  

A. escape from the atmosphere

B. get the energy from the sun

C. search for man-made energy

D. produce the energy they need

4. The space animal theory would seem to suggest that 　　  .

A. living things are extremely adaptable

B. life in space is impossible for man

C. the earth is more suitable for these space animals

D. life cannot exist in the upper atmosphere

　　　 Since the beginning of time, man has been interested in the moon. The Romans designed a special day to show admiration and respect to the moon. They called it “Monday”, or “Monday”, as we know it today. Later, the great mind of Leonardo da Vinci studied the moon and designed a machine to carry a human to the moon. Leonardo said that one day a great machine bird would take a person to the moon and bring great honour to the home where it was born.

　　　 Four and a half centuries later, Leonardo’s idea was realized. Apollo Ⅱ took three Americans Collins, Aldrin, and Armstrong to the moon. The mission (任务) did fill the whole world with great surprise, as Leonardo had said it would. Numerous (many) essays, articles, and books were written about man’s first moon mission. But perhaps the most interesting story was one written before the event over 100 years before.

　　　 In 1865, French author Jules Verne wrote a story about the first journey to the moon. His story was very similar to the 1969 Apollo Ⅱ mission.

　　　 Verne’s spacecraft also contained three men—two Americans and a Frenchman. The spacecraft was described as being almost the same size as Apollo Ⅱ. The launch (发射) site in Verne’s story was also in Florida. The spacecraft in Verne’s story was named the “Columbiad”. The Apollo Ⅱ command ship was called “Columbia”. His account description of sending the spacecraft into the space could easily have been written about how Apollo Ⅱ was sent into the space.

　　　 Verne’s story was the same as the actual event in several other respects (方面). The speed of Verne’s spacecraft was 36,000 feet per second; Apollo’s was 35,533 feet per second. Verne’s spacecraft took 97 hours to reach the moon; Apollo’s time was 103 hours. Like Apollo’s spacemen, Verne’s spacemen took pictures of the moon’s surface, relaxed on their seats, cooked with gas, and experienced weightlessness. They too came down in the Pacific and were picked up by an American warship.

　　　 What were the reasons for Jules Verne’s extreme accuracy (精确) in describing an event 100 years or more before it actually occurred? He based his writings on the laws of physics and astronomy. Nineteenth-century science and the vivid (clear) Verne’s imagination gave people an unbelievably accurate (exact) prediction of one of the greatest events of the 20^th century.

52．Jules Verne wrote his story of a man’s visit to the moon about _________.

A. 100 years before the Apollo Ⅱ mission

B. 10 years before the Apollo Ⅱ mission

C. four and one half centuries ago

D. 100 years ago

53．Verne’s story about the first journey to the moon is very similar to _________.

A. the second US space mission B. the Apollo Ⅱ mission

C. Leonardo da Vinci’s story D. numerous other books on the same subject

54．The passage suggests that Jules Verne _________.

A. developed the laws of physics

B. based his writings on the works of Leonardo da Vinci

C. was very lucky in what he had described about the future

D. knew a great deal about the laws of physics and astronomy

55．The passage mainly describes _________.

A. the rapid progress of mankind

B. Verne’s accurate prediction of the future

C. the 1969 Apollo Ⅱ moon mission

D. the 19th century science and technology