153. --- How did you know that I won?

--- I just       from the look on your face. I am not so sure.

guessed             B. looked                 C. knew                  D. Supposed

153. --- How did you know that I won?

   --- I just       from the look on your face. I am not so sure.

guessed              B. looked                  C. knew                   D. Supposed

153. --- How did you know that I won?
--- I just       from the look on your face. I am not so sure.
guessed             B. looked                 C. knew                  D. Supposed

They were just grasshoppers(蚂蚱). But there were millions of them, which was why dad was so anxious to get rid of them.

“They’re totally destroying our beans,” he told Mom over lunchtime one Saturday. “I’ve been trying to keep them out of the tomatoes, but I don’t know if I can make it.”

“Isn’t there something you can do about them?” Mom asked. She was mostly concerned about the tomatoes. “I think there’s a spray(喷雾) or something,” Dad said. “I’m going down to the garden center after lunch and see if they have any suggestions.”

I’m pretty sure that’s what he said. But what I heard was, “While I’m gone, why don’t you and George come up with your own plan for getting fid of the grasshoppers?”

And so that’s what we did. It was the summer between fifth and sixth grade, so we were feeling pretty clever and mature. Certainly we knew how to get rid of these grasshoppers. That seemed simple enough. Finally Ron and Don joined us but then, things got a little crazy. Before we knew it we were doing terrible experiments. I won’t describe our experiments. Let’s just call it “The Adventures of the Marquis de Orkin”. Dad came home and saw these different deaths. We were laughing, but the laughter quickly turned to silence when we saw the look on my dad’s face.

“What are you boys doing?” he asked .

“We’re just sort of helping to get rid of the grasshoppers,” I said.

“This isn’t ‘getting rid of grasshoppers,’” Dad said. “This is killing.”

I was confused. I looked at the insecticide he was carrying. “But aren’t you going to kill grasshoppers with that?” I asked.

“Yes, because it’s something we need to do for the protection of our garden,” he said seriously. “But I’m not going to enjoy it.”

56. It can be inferred from the text that _________.

A. the tomatoes in the garden were badly damaged by grasshoppers

B. the father was advised to get rid of grasshoppers with insecticide

C. the father asked the author to help catch grasshoppers

D. the author’s way of treating grasshoppers was interesting

57. The underlined word “them” in Para. 3 refers to __________.

A. Dad and I              B. grasshoppers                   C. beans         D. tomatoes

58. The underlined sentence “And so that’s what we did.” means that _________.

A. we killed the grasshoppers for fun

B. we carried out an experiment on the grasshoppers

C. we thought of a way to deal with the grasshoppers

D. we were clever enough to get rid of the grasshoppers

59. How did the author’s father feel when he saw what the children were doing？

A. Angry.                  B. Confused                          C. Satisfied     D. Fearful

60. In which magazine would you most probably find this passage?

A. American Laboratory               B. Accounts of Chemical Research   

C. Readers’ Digest                               D. Technology

On August 5 at 10:31 p.m. PST, a rover（探测器）named Curiosity touched down safely on the surface of Mars, and I was lucky enough to have a front-row seat.
My name is Clara, and when I was in Grade 6, I won the essay contest NASA held to name its next Mars rover. The essay I wrote was not even 250 words long, but somehow it was enough to change my life.
I still remember that cold December day, sitting in a science class. I’d finished a worksheet early and decided to get a Time for Kids magazine off Mrs. Estevez’s bookshelf. It was the 2008 Invention Issue, but that wasn’t the only thing that caught my eye. In the magazine, there was an article about a girl who named the Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity. The article also talked about the essay contest NASA was holding to name its next Mars rover. Before I even knew anything else about it, a single word flooded my 11-year-old mind: Curiosity.
I couldn’t wait for the bell to ring so I could get started on my essay. That afternoon, I raced home from the bus stop, sat down at the computer and typed until my fingers ached. It turned out that I was just in time. A few days later, and the contest would have closed.
Five months later, shortly after I had turned 12, I was watching a National Geographic special on mammoths when the phone rang. My mom answered, and immediately, a wide smile spread across her face. When she told me that I had won, I was happier than I could ever remember being, I screamed and ran up and down the stairs and all around the house. I completely forgot about the mammoths and did not even remember to turn off the TV until it was really late.
Curiosity is such an important part of who I am. I have always been fascinated by the stars, the planets, the sky and the universe. I remember as a little girl, my grandfather and I would sit together in the backyard for hours. He’d tell me stories and point out the stars.
My grandfather lived in China, thousands of miles away from my home in Kansas. I loved the stars because they kept us together even when we were apart. They were always there, yet there was so much I didn’t know about them. That’s what I love so much about space. No matter how much we learn, it will always possess some mystery.
In the past, space exploration may have been a competition to see who got somewhere first or the fastest. But now, it is one of the few things that bring people together. Science is a language that needs no translation. It doesn’t matter where you’re from or what you look like – you just have to have a thirst for knowledge and a passion for learning in order to succeed.
People often ask me why we go to faraway places like Mars. Why do we explore? My answer to that is simple: because we can; because we’re curious; because we as human beings do not just stay holed up in one place. We are constantly wondering and trying to find out what’s over the hill and beyond the horizon.
The curiosity rover is more than just a robot. It is more than just a titanium body and aluminum wheels. Curiosity represents the hard work, passion, love and commitment of thousands of people from all over the world who were brought together by science. Science is so awesome. It is breathtaking and mind-blowing; and sometimes, it’s just a little bit crazy. The discoveries we make about our world are incredibly humbling. They move us forward and have the potential to benefit all of mankind.
This December it will be four years of my life that have been tied to Curiosity in some way. I’ve met so many amazing people through this experience, from scientists to engineers to administrators to volunteers. Their devotion and enthusiasm inspire me greatly. My journey with Curiosity and the MSL mission team has shaped the person that I am today, as well as the person I would one day like to become.
I am deeply grateful to everyone who made it possible for me to have this amazing adventure.
And to you, I hope your curiosity takes you far.
【小题1】 The method the writer uses to begin the passage is _____.