The plan: turn Mars into a blue world with streams and green fields, and then fill it with creatures (生物) from the earth. This idea may sound like something from a science fiction (科幻小说), but it is actually being taken seriously by many researchers.

　　This suggested future for the “red planet” will be the main topic for discussion at an international conference hosted by NASA (美国宇航局) this week. Leading researchers as well as science fiction writers will attend the event. It comes as NASA is preparing a multi?billion?dollar Mars research programme. “Turning Mars into a little earth has long been a topic in science fiction,”said Dr Michael Meyer, NASA’s senior scientist for astrobiology (太空生物学). “Now, with scientists exploring the reality, we can ask what are the real possibilities of changing Mars.”

  Most scientists agree that Mars could be turned into a little earth, although much time and money would be needed to achieve this goal.

　　But many experts are shocked by the idea. “We are destroying our own world at an unbelievable speed and now we are talking about ruining another planet,” said Paul Murdin, of the Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge, UK. Over the past months, scientists have become increasingly confident they will find Martian life forms. Europe and America’s robot explorers have found proof that water, mixed with soil, exists in large amounts on the planet.

  In addition, two different groups of scientists announced on March 28 that they had found signs of methane (甲烷) in the Martian atmosphere (大气). The gas is a waste product of living creatures and could be produced by microbes (微生物) living in the red planet’s soil.

　　But scientists such as Dr Lisa Pratt, a biologist at Indiana University, say that these microbes will be put in danger by the little earth project. “Before we have even discovered if there is life on Mars, we are talking about carrying out projects that would destroy all these native lifeforms, all the strange microbes that we hope to find buried in the soil,” said Dr Pratt. This view is shared by Monica Grady, a planetary scientist at the Natural History Museum, London. “We cannot risk starting a global experiment that would wipe out the precious information we are looking for.” she said， “This is just wrong.”

5. The passage is about________.

A. a plan turning Mars into a little earth

B. the necessity of changing Mars

C. Mars supporting life

D. finding water in the Mars

6. Which of the following is NOT the reason why some scientists are against the plan?

A. The project would wipe out all the native lifeforms on the Mars.

B. The project will cost too much money and work.

C. We would ruin Mars.

D. We are destroying our own world at an unbelievable speed. 

7. We can infer from the passage that________.

A. water is a crucial factor for life

B. the project will have little effect on the native lifeforms supposed to live on the Mars

C. Monica Grady is in favour of carrying out the little earth project

D. the idea turning Mars into a little earth is nothing but a science fiction

8. Which of the following supports the conclusion of microbes living in the Mars’s soil?

A. Scientists found liquid water in the Mars.

B. Scientists found signs of methane in the Martian atmosphere.

C. Scientists found a lot of good soil on the Mars.

D. Scientists found some creatures living on the Mars.

I came to live here where I am now between Wounded Knee Greek and Grass Greek. Others came too, and we made these little grey houses of logs that you see, and they are square, It is a bad way to live, for there can be no power in a square.

You have noticed that everything an Indian does is in a circle, and that is because the Power of the World always works in circles, and everything tries to be round. In the old days when we were a strong and happy people, all our power came to us from the respectful circle of the nation, and so long as the circle was unbroken, the people were getting rich. The flowering tree was the living center of the circle, and the circle of the four quarters nursed it. The east gave peace and light, the south gave warmth, the west gave rain, and the north with its cold and strong wind gave strength and continuous power. This knowledge came to us from the outer world with our brief. Everything the Power of the World does is done in a circle. The sky is round, and I have heard that the earth is round like a ball, and so are all the stars. Birds make their nests in circle, for theirs are the same as ours. The sun comes forth and goes down again in a circle. The moon does the same, and both are round. Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing, and always come back again to where they were. The life of a man is a circle from childhood to childhood, and so it is in everything where power moves. Our places were like the nests of birds, and these were always set in a circle, the nation’s circle, a nest of many nests, where the Great Spirit meant for us to nurse our children.

　　But the Wasichus (Indian word for “white people”) have put us in these square boxes. Our power is gone and we are dying, for the power is not in us any more. You can look at our boys and see how it is with us. Where we were living by the power of the circle in the way we should, boys were men at twelve or thirteen years of age. But now it takes them very much longer to be bull - grown.

1. According to the passage, the Indians _______.

A. don’t have modern instruments in their homes

B. refused to move from round places

C. lived in round places, but were forced to live in square houses

D. lived in round places, but then decided to move into square houses

2. Two things being compared in the passage are _______.

A. the Indians’ past and present living conditions

B. the Indians’ past and modern beliefs

C. the Indians’ old and new power

D. people and nature

3. In the second paragraph “the four quarters” refers to _______.

A. the four rooms of the Indian’s house

B. the four kinds of natural power

C. the four seasons

D. the four directions

4. According to the author, once the Indians moved into square houses, _______.

A. they had to move to other houses   

B. boys took more time to grow into men

C. they forgot the old way of life           

D. everyone was not happy

　"I’ve changed my mind. I wanted to have a telescope, but now I want my dad back." Lucien Lawence’s letter to Father Christmas written after his father had been knifed to death outside his school gate, must have touched every heart. Lucien went on to say that without his father he couldn’t see the stars in the sky. When those whom we love depart from us, we cannot see the stars for a while.

　　But Lucien, the stars are still there, and one day, when you are older and your tears have gone, you will see them again. And, in a strange way, I expect that you will find your father is there too, in your mind and in your heart. I find that my parents, long dead now, still figure in many of my dreams and that I think of them perhaps more than I ever did when they were alive. I still live to please them and I’m still surprised by their reactions. I remember that when I became a professor, I was so proud, or rather so pleased with myself, that I couldn’t wait to cable my parents. The reply was a long time in coming, but when it did, all mother said was, "I hope this means that now you will have more time for the children.” I haven’t forgotten. The values of my parents still live on.

　　It makes me pause and think about how I will live on in the hearts and minds of my children and of those for whom I care. Would I have been as ready as Philip Lawrence have been to face the aggressors (挑衅者),and to lay down my life for those in my care? How many people would want me back for Christmas? It’s a serious thought, one to give me pause.

　　I pray silently, sometimes, in the dead of night, that ancient cry of a poet "Deliver my soul from the sword, and my darling from the power of the dog." Yet I know the death comes to us all, and sometimes comes suddenly. We must therefore plan to live forever, but live as if we will die tomor-row. We live on, in the lives of those we loved, and therefore we ought to have a care for what they will remember and what they will treasure. If more parents knew this in their hearts to be true, there might be fewer knives on our streets today.

　　16. according to the whole text we can see that the first paragraph ________.

　　A. puts forward the subject of the text

　　B. shows the author’s pity on the kid

　　C. acts as an introduction to the discussion

　　D. makes a clear statement of the author’s views

　　17. In the second paragraph the author mainly wants to explain to us ________.

　　A. how much he misses his parents now

　　B. why his parents often appear in his dreams

　　C. when Lucien will get over all his sadness

　　D. how proud he was when he succeeded in life

　　18. What feeling did the author’s mother express in her reply?

　　A. Proud.          B. Happy.          C. Disappointed.       D. Worried.

　　19. In the author’s opinion, the value of a person’s life is ________.

　　A. to leave behind a precious memory to the people related

　　B. to have a high sense of duty to the whole society

　　C. to care what others will remember and treasure

　　D. to share happiness and sadness with his family

　　20. What does the writer mean by the sentence taken from an old poem?

　　A. Call on criminals and murderers to lay down their guns.

　　B. Advise parents stay with their children safely at home.

　　C. Spend every day meaningfully in memory of the death.

　　D. Try to keep violence and murder far away from society.

Doreen Sykora is now a junior at McGill University. She had a difficult time when she first began college. She said, “I was always well prepared for my examinations. But when I go into class to take the exam, I would fall apart. I could just blank out because of nervousness and fear.” Hitoshi Sakamoto, an anthropology(人类学) student at Temple University in Tokyo reports similar experiences.

These two young students were experiencing something called test anxiety. Because a student worries and is stressed(加压力于) about a test, his or her mind does not work as well as it usually does. The student cannot write or think clearly because of the severe tension and nervousness.

Now there are special university courses to help students. In these courses, advisors and psychologists try to help students by teaching them to manage test anxiety. Such a course helps students learn to live with stress and not fail because of it. First students take a practice test to measure their worry level. If the tests show that their stress level is high, the students can take a short course to manage the fear. These courses teach students how to relax their bodies. They get training to become calm in very tense situations. By controlling their nervousness, they can let their minds work more easily. Learned information then comes out without difficulty on a test.

Doreen Sykora saw immediate results after taking such a course. She now has enthusiasm about the relaxation methods. “Mostly, what I do is imagine myself in a very calm place. Then I imagine myself picking up a pencil. I move slowly and carefully. I breathe easily and let all the tension out. With each breath, more worry leaves me. It really works too. My grades have improved greatly! I’m really doing well at McGill now. This relaxation method works not only on examinations, but it has improved the rest of my life as well.”

For Hitoshi in Tokyo, the results were much the same. He is enjoying school a lot more and learning more.

1. What is the similarity between Doreen Sykora and Hitoshi Sakamoto?

A. They are students from the same university.

B. They failed in all the examinations.

C. They both had experiences of test anxiety.

D. They both had the same poor studying habits.

2. The phrase “blank out” in Paragraph 1 refers to “_______.”

A. lose interest in the exam           B. refuse to take the exam

C. get an extra paper                  D. be unable to think clearly

3. What’s the purpose of some special university student-help courses?

　　A. To help students to reduce test anxiety.   

　　B. To show a stress level experienced by students.

　　C. To learn more knowledge about test anxiety.

　　D. To have a better understanding of test anxiety.

People do not analyze every problem they meet. Sometimes they try to remember a solution from the last time they had a 36 problem. They often accept the opinions or ideas of other people. Other times they begin to act without 37 ; they try to find a solution by trial and error(反复试验). 　38 , when all of these methods 39 , the person with a problem has to start analyzing. There are six 40 in analyzing a problem.

41 ，the person must recognize that there is a problem. For example, Sam’s bicycle is broken, and he cannot ride it to class as he usually does. Sam must 42 that there is a problem with the bicycle.

Next, the person must find out the problem. Before Sam can repair his bicycle, he must know why it does not work. For example, he must 43 the parts that are wrong.

Now the person must look for 44 that will make the problem clearer and lead to 45 solutions. For example, suppose Sam decides that his bicycle does not work because there is something wrong with the brakes. 　46 , he can look into his bicycle repair book and read about brakes, talk to his friends at the bike shop, or look at his brakes carefully.

After 47 the problem, the person should have 48 suggestions for a possible solution. Take Sam as an example 49 , his suggestions might be: tighten or loosen the brakes; buy new brakes and change the old ones.

In the end, one 50 seems to be the solution to the problem. Sometimes the

51 idea comes quite 52 because the thinker suddenly sees something new or sees something in a different way. Sam, for example, suddenly sees there is a piece of chewing gum (口香糖) stuck to a brake. He 53 hits on the solution to his problem: he must 54 the brake.

Finally the solution is 55 . Sam does it and finds his bicycle works perfectly. In short he has solved the problem.

36. A. serious 　　　　　　 B. usual　　　　　　　　 C. similar　　　　　　　　　　 D. common

37. A. searching　　　　　 B. thinking　　　　　　 C. finding　　　　　　　　　　 D. looking

38. A. Besides　　　　　　　B. Instead　　　　　　　C. Otherwise　　　　　　　 D. However

39. A. fail　　　　　　　　　　 B. work　　　　　　　　 C. change　　　　　　　　　　D. develop

40. A. ways　　　　　　　　　B. conditions　　　　 C. stages　　　　　　　　　　　D. orders

41. A. First　　　　　　　　　 B. Usually　　　　　　 C. In general　　　　　　　　 D. Most importantly

42. A. explain　　　　　　　 B. prove　　　　　　　 C. show　　　　　　　　　　　　D. see

43. A. check　　　　　　　　 B. determine　　　　 C. correct　　　　　　　　　　 D. recover

44. A. answers　　　　　　　B. skills　　　　　　　　 C. explanation　　　　　　 D. information

45. A. possible　　　　　　　 B. exact　　　　　　　　 C. real　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. special

46. A. In other words　　 B. Once in a while C. First of all　　　　　　　D. At this time

47. A. discussing　　　　　　 B. settling down　　　C. comparing with　　　D. studying

48. A. extra　　　　　　　　　　 B. enough　　　　　　　 C. several　　　　　　　　　D. countless

49. A. secondly　　　　　　 B. again　　　　　　　　　 C. also　　　　　　　　　　　D. alone

50. A. suggestion　　　　　　 B. conclusion　　　　　 C. decision　　　　　　　　D. discovery

51. A. next　　　　　　　　　　　B. clear　　　　　　　　　 C. final　　　　　　　　　　　D. new

52. A. unexpectedly　　　　 B. late　　　　　　　　　　 C. clearly　　　　　　　　　D. often

53. A. fortunately　　　　　　 B. easily　　　　　　　　　 C. clearly　　　　　　　　 D. immediately

54. A. clean　　　　　　　　　 B. separate　　　　　　　　C. loosen　　　　　　　　 D. remove

55. A. recorded　　　　　　　B. completed　　　　　　 C. tested　　　　　　　　　 D. accepted