Astronauts’ meals have come a long way from the free-dried powders and semi—liquid pastes of decades ago，now US scientists want to grow vegetables in mini—greenhouses on the moon．

   Scientists say they are looking forward to a time when residents of future lunar or even Martian outsteps will be able to dine on fresh vegetables．Paragon Space Development Corporation has unveiled what it called the first step toward growing flowers——and eventually food on the moon．

   This is a sealed greenhouse that looks like a bell jar encased in a 46-cm triangular aluminiumframe．It is designed to safely land a laboratory plant on the lunar surface，and protect it while it grows．

   The miniature greenhouse is to be launched into space by Odyssey Moon Ltd, a participant in the Google Lunar X Prize. This competition offers $21 million to any entrant who can launch, land and operate a rover on the lunar surface.

   Paragon officials say future testing of the “Lunar Oasis” will be driven by Odyssey’s flight Schedule, which will not happen until 2012 at the earliest．

   When it does lift off the greenhouse will contain the seeds of Brassica, a hardy plant related to Brussels sprouts and cabbage. Because Brassica goes from seed to flower in just 14 days, it can complete its life cycle in a single lunar night.

   “Colonizing the Moon or Mars seems so far away，but it is important that we do this research now. ”Paragon president Jane Poynter said．

   “It takes a long time to get a lot of research, and to get integrated, reliable efficient systems before colonists move in. ”she said．

The article is written mainly to__________．

    A. predict the astronauts’ meals in the future

    B. introduce an experiment “Lunar Oasis’’

    C. tell us the future development of astronomy

    D. focus on the human’s great progress

The article implies that__________．

    A. astronauts can grow flowers in space at present

    B. Paragon and NASA will carry out the test separately

    C. Lunar Oasis is a series of experiments carried out in space

    D. the earliest testing of the Lunar Oasis may be in 2012

The underlined word “colonists” in the last paragraph probably has the meaning of______．

    A. plants    B. wild beasts    C. human beings      D. scientists

The seeds of Brassica will be contained in the greenhouse mainly because _________.

    A. their life cycle is much shorter

    B. they are more nutritious than other food

    C. they are related to Brussels sprouts and cabbage

    D. they are very delicious

 Blind from birth, I have never had the opportunity to see myself and have been completely dependent on the image I create in the eyes of others.

       There are those who believe that   36   I can’t see, I obviously also cannot hear. Very often people will talk with me at the top of their   37  . Conversely(相反地) to this, people will also often   38  , thinking that since my eyes don’t work, my ears don’t either. For example, when I go to the airport and ask the ticket agent for   39  to the plane, he or she will always pick up the phone and call a ground hostess in a very low voice. "Hi, Jane, wave got a 76 here." I have concluded that the word "  40  " is not used because they are unwilling to inform me of my condition of which I may not have been previously   41  .

       On the other hand, others know that of course I can hear, but believe that I can’t talk. Once I became ill and was hospitalized. Immediately after I was    42  , I was wheeled down to the X-ray room. Just at the door sat an elderly woman(judging from her voice) asked the orderly(护工) who had been wheeling me:" What is your name?" “What’s your name?” the orderly   43   to me. "Harold Krents", I replied. "Harold Krents", he repeated. "When was he born?" "When were you born?" This continued for about five minutes before I finally interrupted, "Look, this is absolutely   44   . OK, I can’t see, but it’s going to become pretty  45   to both of you that I don’t need an interpreter." “He says he doesn’t need an interpreter," the orderly reported to the woman. 

       The   46   misconception of all is the view that because I can’t see, I can’t  47  . I was turned down by over forty law firms,   48   my qualifications included a cum laude(优等成绩) degree from Harvard Law School. The  49  to find jobs, the continuous   50  of being told that it was impossible for a blind person to   51  law, the rejection letter, not based on my lack of   52  but rather on my disability, will always remain one of the most upsetting experiences of my life.

      53  , the Department of Labor issued laws that demand equal  54  opportunities for the disabled. The business community’s response has been   55  . The attitude towards the disabled is beginning to change.

1.A．since         B．although         C．whether    D．in that

2.A．lungs          B．ears           C．head      D．eyes

3.A．shout         B．laugh           C．whisper    D．cry

4.A．welcome       B．permission       C．advice      D．assistance

5.A．passenger      B．blind           C．trouble     D．situation

6.A．afraid        B．aware           C．curious     D．desperate

7.A．invited        B．released        C．included   D．admitted

8.A．asked         B．responded     C．repeated    D．exchanged

9.A．cheerful     B．ridiculous        C．charming  D．disgusting

10.A．clear        B．easy          C．confusing  D．doubtful

11.A．earliest      B．slightest        C．latest     D．toughest

12.A．think        B．study         C．work     D．understand

13.A．as if         B．even though     C．now that   D．in case

14.A．attempt      B．opportunity      C．mistake     D．success

15.A．disappointmentB．relief        C．envy        D．effort

16.A．disobey           B．challenge      C．practice    D．make

17.A．confidence  B．luck           C．ability      D．ambition

18.A．Regretfully  B．Purposely       C．Exactly     D．Fortunately

19.A．caring       B．employment     C．learning    D．traveling

20.A． enthusiastic       B．passive          C．negative    D．uncertain

Who Owns the Moon?

Within the next ten years, the U. S., China, Israel, and a crowd of private companies plan to set up camp on the moon. So if and when they plant a flag, does that give them property rights?

A NASA working group hosted a discussion this week to ask: Who owns the moon? The answer, of course, is no use. The Outer Space Treaty, the international signed by more than 100 countries, states that the moon and other celestial bodies (天体) are the province of all mankind. No doubt that would annoy all of the people throughout the ages, like monks from the Middle Ages, who have tried to claim the moon was theirs.

But ownership is different from property rights. People who rent apartments, for example, don’t own where they live, but they still hold rights. So with all of the upcoming missions (派遣团) to visit the moon and beyond, space industry thought leaders are seriously asking themselves how to deal with a potential land rush.

“ This is a very relevant discussion right now. We’ve got this wave of new lunar missions from around the world,” said William Marshall, a scientist in the small-spacecraft office at NASA, but who spoke this week at an event hosted by NASA’s Co Lab, a collaborative(协力完成的) public-private working group. He was speaking from his personal interest and not on behalf of the agency.

To be sure, the United States aims to send astronauts back to the moon by as early as 2015, in a mission that would include a long-term settlement. China and Israel, among others, are also working on lunar projects. And for the first time, several private groups are building spacecraft to land on the moon in an attempt to win millions of dollars in the Google Lunar X Prize. Some participants say that they plan to gain some property rights in the mission.

1.In the passage the writer seems to be worrying that ________.

A．the US will live on the moon forever

B．the moon will not be able to hold all mankind

C．the potential land rush will become more and more frequent

D．no one can answer the question “ Who owns the moon?”

2.“ The Google Lunar X Prize” aims to ________.

A．encourage private groups to land on the moon

B．help NASA host a discussion about land rush on the moon

C．help some developing countries to complete their lunar projects

D．reward some countries or private groups which haven’t stepped on the moon

3.The underlined word “ that” in the first paragraph refers to ________.

A．the Outer Space Treaty

B．if and when they plant a flag

C．the NASA working group

D．monks from the Middle Ages

4.What is the main idea of the last paragraph?

A．The U. S. astronauts will live on the moon for longer time.

B．Many countries and private groups plan to go to the moon.

C．Why some private groups wish to land on the moon.

D．It is easy to gain some property rights on the moon.

5.We can infer from the passage that ________.

A．it’s a waste of time to work on the lunar project

B．“ The Outer Space Treaty” forbids private groups to land on the moon

C．all mankind has the right to land on the moon

D．whenever you come to the moon, you’ll get some property rights on it

After years of hearing drivers complain about scratches on their cars, Japan's Nissan Motor Company has officially announced the next big thing---a paint that not only resists scratches and scrapes, but actually repairs itself within a few days.
The new material, developed by Nippon Paint Company, contains an elastic rubbery-like resin(弹性树脂) that is able to heal minor marks caused by car wash equipment, parking lot encounters, road debris (石头碎片) or even on-purpose destruction. The automaker admits its results vary depending on the temperature and the depth of the damage, but adds this is the only paint like it in the world, and tests prove it works. Minor scratches, the most common type, are said to slowly fade over about a week. And once they're gone, there is no trace that they were ever there. The special paint is said to last for at least three years after it is first applied, but there is no word yet on whether more can be added after that period.
Nissan claims car washes are the worst offenders for this type of damage, accounting for at least 80 percent of all incidents. But the complete auto-healing won't come without scratching your wallet. The vehicle maker notes the special paint adds about $ 100 U.S. to the price of a car. It plans to use its new chemical mixture only on its X - Trail SUVs in Japan for now, as it looks for a more widespread presentation. And while plans to offer the feature overseas haven't been made yet, if it's a hit there, you can be almost sure market forces will drive it to these shores, as well.
【小题1】From the article, we can find that_______.

When you are talking to somebody at a party, do you focus entirely on the person you are speaking with or does your attention keep jumping around the room to all the other people there? General1y, if the person is someone you really want to talk to, you will focus on him. Most other people will only get about half of your attention.
You may think that this is OK, because if you don’t really want to talk to him, then what does it matter if you don’t give him your full attention? Consider two things. First, you may just not realize the importance of that conversation. If you are at a networking meeting and you hope to meet the CEO of Company X, but you end up talking to someone who has a low-level job at a different company, then you may let your attention wander（走神）as you speak to him. But maybe you don’t realize that this person has already met the CEO and could introduce you. Do you think he will do that if he feels you don’t really care about speaking to him? This doesn’t mean you need to spend the whole time talking to him. Five or ten minutes of real attentive（专心的）conversation can be worth 30 minutes to an hour of partial attention.
Second, whether you want to speak to someone is based on the situation. You can love your wife, but if she tries to talk to you while you are watching something you like on TV, where is your attention going? Make your own decision, but if you want her to feel valued, give her your 100% attention. The nice thing is that in many cases you can give her your attention for a few minutes and then return to what you were doing. You miss very little, she feels valued, and all is good.
【小题1】The author’s opinion is made believable mainly by ________.
A using figures    B. giving examples    C. asking questions     D. description
【小题2】The second paragraph mainly tells you that ________.