15.The US$ 820 million project at least includes       rovers .

     A.2                 B.3                 C.4                 D.5

E

August has always been difficult for me . It is the time when I realize that the books my English teacher assigned (布置)to me are not going to read themselves and that I have a difficult month in front of me .

You might think that I don’t want to spend my summer reading , but that’s not the problem : I love reading . On the first day of my summer holiday this year , I went to the library and got “ A Gathering of Old Men” by African-American writer Ernest Gaines . I enjoyed it very much . I read all the magazines that my parents subscribe to (订阅)and spend about 30 minutes every day with the morning paper .

So why do I hate summer reading for school ? Because the books on summer reading lists are often slow-going and just uninviting (不吸引人). Teachers and librarians don’t understand that summer reading can be entertaining as well as educational . They choose books that a friend of my mother’s calls “spinach books” : good for you , but not much fun to take in . Every summer , I read them , hate them and get bitter about the experience .

This bitterness started three years ago when I was about to begin high school . As preparation , my English teacher told me to read “ The Age of Innocence” (《纯真年代》)by American author Edith Wharton .I’m sure there are many people who enjoyed “The Age of Innocence” --some might even say it’s their favourite book .

But I don’t think any of these people read it as a 14-year-old boy on his summer vacation .

“The Age of Innocence” is the story of a forbidden romance in New York 100years ago . At 14, my only experience with romance was my love for baseball .I couldn’t imagine being in love , much less being in love in 1900. “The Age of Innocence” was totally different to my life .

Most of my required summer reading has been like that--books written in a style that plays up the adjectives and plays down the verbs . I guess teachers don’t think exciting plots make for “good literature” . To me , though , a good writer describes events and characters in a way that makes the reader want to know what happens next .

If I ware making up a summer reading list , it would include “The Friends of Eddie Coyle” by George V. Higgins , “The Right Stuff” by Tom Wolfe , and “Into Thin Air” by Jon Krakauer . These are all books that have literary value but , just as important , can also entertain kids on vacation . If the teachers could stand a little fun in the books they assign , my Augusts would be a lot more enjoyable .

12.From the passage we know George E. Elliot , Jr once mainly did      kinds of jobs .

     A.1                 B.2                 C.3                 D.4

D

Excited by the successful landing of the rover (探测机器人) on Mars , scientists from NASA( the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration ) have spent the last few days studying data (数据)from the robot and working on getting it ready to roll .

Spirit made a dangerous , but safe , landing on Mars on Sunday on what scientists believe is the rocky bed of an ancient lake that once may have contained life .

Just three hours later , the six-wheeled rover began sending black-and –white photos of its surroundings back 170 million kilometers to Earth . The rover sent back a few colour photos on Monday .

The scientists were overjoyed by the success . Two of every three past purpose of landings on Mars have failed .

“It’s a big step forward for all humanity . Now we have another rover on another planet , exploring a new world . What more could you ask for ?” said Charles Elachi, director of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory .

The first images from Spirit show a flat , wind-damaged surface dotted with small rocks . The scene made scientists eager to send the rover around the planet in search of evidence (证据)that the landing site was once covered with water .

The US$ 820 million project also includes a twin golf cart-sized rover called Opportunity , set to land on Mars’ other side on January 24.

The dozens of initial(开始的),low-resolution(分辨能力)photos show Spirit landed upright (垂直的),level and facing south on a flat stretch of the hole the scientists believe once contained a lake .

It will be about a week before the six-wheeled robot is ready to roll off its lander and move around Mars .

Spirit’s successful landing has ended the trend of failed missions to Mars . NASA’s last attempt to land on Mars , in 1999 , ended in failure . Its last successful landing was in 1997 , when Pathfinder carried the tiny Sojourner rover to the surface of Mars .

Over the next three months , the robot will use a range of instruments to look for evidence of past water activity in the rocks and soil of the planet .

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