A Plan For Exploring Mars

NASA is moving ahead with plans to put a long－armed lander on Mars' icy north pole to search for clues (线索) for water and possible signs of life.

The MYM386 million Phoenix Mars is planned to touch down in the Martian arctic in 2008.The stationary probe will use its robotic arm to dig into the icy land and pick up soil samples (标本，样品) to analyze. In 2002, the Mars Odyssey orbiter spotted evidence of ice－rich soil near the arctic surface.

Scientists hope the Phoenix mission will find clues to the geologic history of water on the Red Planet and determine whether microbes(微生物)existed in the ice.

Phoenix will be the first mission of the Mars Scout program, a renewed, low－cost effort to study the Red Planet. “The Phoenix mission explores new territory in the northern plains of Mars analogous to the permafrost regions on Earth，” Peter Smith said.

True to its name, Phoenix rose from the ashes of previous(先前的) missions. The lander for Phoenix was built to fly as part of the 2001 Mars Surveyor program. But the program broke down after the well－known disappearance of the Mars Polar Lander in 1999.The Polar Lander lost contact during a landing attempt near the planet's south pole after its rocket engine shut off prematurely,_causing the spacecraft to fall about 130 feet to almost certain destruction.

The Phoenix probe had been in storage at a Lockheed Martin clean room in Denver before it was reused for its present mission. It will carry science instruments that were designed for the Mars Surveyor program including an improved panoramic camera and a trench－digging robotic arm. Phoenix will lift off from the Kennedy Space Center in August 2007 and land on the planet nine months later.

1．The passage mainly tells readers that ________.

 A．clues of water will be found in Phoenix

 B．Phoenix will be sent to find clues of water on Mars

 C．August 2007 will see Phoenix lift off

 D．the Mars Scout program will be carried out

2．The underlined word “prematurely” (Paragraph 5) means “________”．

A．on time            B．behind the time

C．out of work          D．ahead of time

3．According to the passage, we know Phoenix will land on Mars ________.

A．in May 2008        B．in August 2007   

C．in August 2008      D．in September 2008

4．According to the passage, the name “Phoenix” is after the meaning of ________.

 A．rebirth  B．death  C．energy  D．hope

5．After Phoenix lands on Mars, we can infer it will firstly ________.

A．find soil samples and send them to the earth

B．look for the icy land to dig for the soil samples

C．take photos and send them to the earth

D．find the remains of the Mars Polar Lander

Flying over a desert area in an airplane, two scientists looked down with trained eyes at trees and bushes．After an hour’s flight one of the scientists wrote in his book, “Look here for probable mental．” Scientists in another airplane, flying over a mountain region, sent a message to other scientists on the ground, “ Gold possible”．Walking across hilly ground, four scientists reported, “This ground should be searched for metals．” From an airplane over a hilly wasteland a scientist sent back by radio one word, “Uranium”

None of the scientists had X-ray eyes; they had no magic power for looking down below the earth’s surface．They were merely putting to use one of the newest methods of locating minerals in the ground—using trees and plants as sighs that certain minerals may lie beneath the ground on which the trees and plants are growing．

This newest method of searching for minerals is based on the fact that minerals deep in the earth may affect the kind of bushes and trees that grow on the surface．

At Watson Bar Creek, a brook six thousand feet high in the mountains of British 39, however, one tends to believe fully in the reality of the dream world, Columbia, Canada, a mineral search group gathered bags of tree seeds．Boxes were filled with small branches from the trees．Roots were dug and put into boxes．Each bag and box was carefully marked．In a scientific laboratory the parts of the forest trees were burned to ashes and tested．Each small part was examined to learn whether there were minerals in it．

Study of the roots, branches, and seeds showed no silver．But there were small amounts of gold in the roots and a little gold in the branches and seeds．The seeds growing nearest to the tree trunk had more gold than those growing on the ends of the branches．

If the tree had not indicated that there was gold in the ground, the scientists would not have spent money to pay for digging into the ground．They did dig and found more gold below．They dug deeper．They found large quantities of gold．

1．Scientists were flying over a desert or a hilly wasteland or a mountain region in order to search for __________．

A．gold　　　　 　　 B．silver　　　 　　 C．metals　　　　 　 D．minerals

2．The study of trees, branches and roots indicates that ________

A．there were larger amounts of gold in the branches than in the seeds

B．there were smaller amounts of gold in the roots than in the branches

C．there were larger amounts of gold in the seeds growing nearest to the tree trunk than seeds growing on the ends of branches

D．there were more gold in the branches than in the roots

3．Which is the best title suggested below?

A．Scientists Searching for Metals with Special Power

B．New Methods of Searching for Minerals

C．Gold Could Be Found by Trees and Plants

D．A New Method of Searching for Minerals –Using Trees and Plants

4．Which of the following is NOT mentioned as part of a tree that can help find minerals?

A．Leaves　　　 B．Roots　　　 　 C．Branches　　　　 D．Seeds

5．The scientists were searching for minerals by using ________．

A．X-ray　　　　 　　　 　　　　　 B．Magic power 　　

C．a special instrument　　 　　　　　　　 D．trained eyes

I had looked forward to this day for a long time．Finally I, Kirsty Sturart, would stand on the top of Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in Europe．Although I climbed often in my native Scotland, this was my first trip to the Alps．My companions—Jean Pierre Barton, Maurice Gautier, and Mary Sargent—and I left our camp early and planned to reach the top by late morning．

As we neared the top, large clouds gathered and it began to snow．We found shelter and decided to wait for the snow to stop．After three hours, however, we decided to go back and try again the next day．We started down the mountain in the thick snow．Jean-Pierre forgot his sunglasses and went back to look for them．As he was returning to us, he started to fall．

His fall started an avalanche（雪崩） and it was falling towards us! I was swept away by the heavy snow. Jean-Pierre hurried down to me．“Are you OK?” he asked．

“I think I broke my leg,” I answered．

“I’d better radio for help!” he said．“Where are the others?” We couldn’t see Maurice or Mary anywhere．

Jean-Pierre called the emergency radio number, and the police said they would send help right away．It seemed like hours, but only minutes later we heard the welcome sound of a helicopter． The helicopter couldn’t land on the mountainside, so they lowered two men, two dogs, and a stretcher（担架）．One man ran to me, but I told him to search for the others．The dogs were trained for avalanche rescue and soon began to dig crazily in the snow．

Bernardo, the lead dog, found Mary’s scarf and led the rescuers to her．Maurice was nearby．The men gave us hot drinks and warm blankets and then prepared to lift us into the helicopter．Two men inside the helicopter pulled us up with the ropes．I went first on the stretcher．

Once we were safely inside, the helicopter flew to the hospital in Chamonix．Our poor rescuers and their dogs had to climb all the way back down the mountain．Later we would find these brave men and thank them for saving our lives．

1.What prevented the climbers from reaching the top?

    A．The terrible weather．

    B．The loss of the sunglasses．

    C．The injury of the team members．

    D．The unexpected height of the mountain．

2.How did the writer break his leg?

    A．The road was covered with snow．

    B．His companion knocked into him．

    C．The heavy clouds blocked his view．

    D．The avalanche caused a fall for him．

3.How did the writer feel while waiting for help?

    A．Anxious．        B．Crazy．          C．Sorry．          D．Annoyed．

4.What do we learn from the passage?

    A．Mary was the leader of the team．

    B．The team was upset about their failure．

    C．It was several hours before the rescue team arrived ．

    D．The writer was excited thinking of climbing Mount Blanc．

I had looked forward to this day for a long time．Finally, I, Kirsty Sturart, would stand on the top of Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in Europe．Although I climbed often in my native Scotland, this was my first trip to the Alps．My companions—Jean Pierre, Maurice Gautier, and Mary Sargent—and I left our camp early and planned to reach the top by late morning．

As we neared the top, large clouds gathered and it began to snow．We found shelter and decided to wait for the snow to stop．After three hours, however, we decided to go back and try again the next day．We started down the mountain in the thick snow．Jean Pierre forgot his sunglasses and went back to look for them．As he was returning to us, he started to fall．

His fall started an avalanche(雪崩) and it was falling towards us! I was swept away by the heavy snow. Jean Pierre hurried down to me．“Are you OK?” he asked．

“I think I broke my leg,” I answered．

“I’d better radio for help!” he said．“Where are the others?” We couldn’t see Maurice or Mary anywhere．

Jean Pierre called the emergency radio number, and the police said they would send help right away．It seemed like hours, but only minutes later we heard the welcome sound of a helicopter. The helicopter couldn’t land on the mountainside, so they lowered two men, two dogs, and a stretcher（担架）．One man ran to me, but I told him to search for the others．The dogs were trained for avalanche rescue and soon began to dig crazily in the snow．

Bernardo, the lead dog, found Mary’s scarf and led the rescuers to her．Maurice was nearby．The men gave us hot drinks and warm blankets and then prepared to lift us into the helicopter．Two men inside the helicopter pulled us up with the ropes．I went first on the stretcher．

Once we were safely inside, the helicopter flew to the hospital in Chamonix．Our poor rescuers and their dogs had to climb all the way back down the mountain．Later we would find these brave men and thank them for saving our lives．

56．What prevented the climbers from reaching the top?

       A．The terrible weather．                                B．The loss of the sunglasses．

       C．The injury of the team members．               D．The unexpected height of the mountain．

57．How did the writer break his leg?

       A．The road was covered with snow．             B．His companion knocked into him．

       C．The heavy clouds blocked his view．           D．The avalanche caused a fall for him．

58．How did the writer feel while waiting for help?

       A．Anxious．              B．Crazy．                  C．Sorry．                  D．Annoyed．

59．What do we learn from the passage?

       A．Mary was the leader of the team．

       B．The team was upset about their failure．

       C．It was several hours before the rescue team arrived ．

       D．The writer was excited thinking of climbing Mount Blanc．

I had looked forward to this day for a long time．Finally I, Kirsty Sturart, would stand on the top of Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in Europe．Although I climbed often in my native Scotland, this was my first trip to the Alps．My companions—Jean Pierre Barton, Maurice Gautier, and Mary Sargent—and I left our camp early and planned to reach the top by late morning．
As we neared the top, large clouds gathered and it began to snow．We found shelter and decided to wait for the snow to stop．After three hours, however, we decided to go back and try again the next day．We started down the mountain in the thick snow．Jean-Pierre forgot his sunglasses and went back to look for them．As he was returning to us, he started to fall．
His fall started an avalanche（雪崩） and it was falling towards us! I was swept away by the heavy snow. Jean-Pierre hurried down to me．“Are you OK?” he asked．
“I think I broke my leg,” I answered．
“I’d better radio for help!” he said．“Where are the others?” We couldn’t see Maurice or Mary anywhere．
Jean-Pierre called the emergency radio number, and the police said they would send help right away．It seemed like hours, but only minutes later we heard the welcome sound of a helicopter． The helicopter couldn’t land on the mountainside, so they lowered two men, two dogs, and a stretcher（担架）．One man ran to me, but I told him to search for the others．The dogs were trained for avalanche rescue and soon began to dig crazily in the snow．
Bernardo, the lead dog, found Mary’s scarf and led the rescuers to her．Maurice was nearby．The men gave us hot drinks and warm blankets and then prepared to lift us into the helicopter．Two men inside the helicopter pulled us up with the ropes．I went first on the stretcher．
Once we were safely inside, the helicopter flew to the hospital in Chamonix．Our poor rescuers and their dogs had to climb all the way back down the mountain．Later we would find these brave men and thank them for saving our lives．
【小题1】What prevented the climbers from reaching the top?