题目内容

The universe looks like a pretty quiet place to live. But the universe is filled with dangerous things, all struggling to be the one to wipe us off the planet. Happily for us, they’re all pretty unlikely, but if you wait long enough, one of them is certain to get us. But which one?

1. Death by Asteroid (小行星)

Of all the ways we might meet our untimely death, getting wiped out by an asteroid is the most likely. Why? Because we sit in a universal shooting gallery, with 100 tons of material hitting us every day. The problem, though, occurs every few centuries when something big this way comes. If you could ask a dinosaur, I’d imagine they would tell you to take this seriously.

2. Death by Exploding Star

When a huge star ends its life, it does so with a bang, which sends death spreading across space in the form of high-energy radiation. Many studies show that the bang would have to be closer than about 75 light years to do us any harm. The good news: no stars so close are able to do the deed.

3. Death by Dying Sun

The sun is important to us; without it, we’d freeze. But the sun is also middle-aged, already halfway to running out of fuel, expanding into a red giant, and cooking us to a fine crisp. Even long before then, it’ll warm up enough to raise our average temperature and cause a runaway greenhouse effect, boiling our oceans.

Happily, that’s a long time from now.

4. Death by Black Hole

Black holes are misunderstood. They don’t wander the galaxy looking for tasty snacks in the form of planets and stars; they turn around the Milky Way just like the hundreds of billions of other stars do. But it’s possible that one could wander too close to us. If it did, planetary paths would be disturbed, causing the Earth to drop into the sun or be thrown out into deep space.

Given that it could be trillions of years or more before even that happens, we don’t have to worry too much about black holes.

My advice? Go outside, look up, enjoy the sun, the moon, and the stars. They may be there forever as far as any one of us is concerned...and forever is a long, long time.

1.The underlined word “this” probably refers to ________.

A. getting wiped out by a dinosaur

B. an untimely death

C. a cosmic shooting gallery

D. 100 tons of material

2.Which of the following will cause the earth’s average temperature to go up dramatically?

A. The dying sun.B. The black hole.

C. The asteroid.D. The exploding star.

3.Which of the following statement is possible about black holes?

A. They wander the galaxy.

B. One of them wanders very close to the earth.

C. They turn around the galaxy.

D. They look for planets and stars.

4.While the author is introducing the ways the universe could wipe out humankind, he is ________ us.

A. warningB. comfortingC. entertainingD. ignoring

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根据短文内容,从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。

One of the common complaints we hear from the people around us are problems they are facing. Every day and everywhere there are problems. Many times we find it hard to stay happy. When one problem is solved, another one comes up. How to solve them? The answer is that we must equip ourselves to deal with different kinds of worries by learning the three basic steps of problem analysis. The three steps are:

Get the facts

Why is it so important to get the facts? Unless you have the facts, you can’t possibly attempt to solve your problem intelligently. Without the facts, all you can do is wondering around in confusion. It is not an easy job to get facts. When you are worried, your emotions are riding high. 1.

When trying to get the facts, you can pretend that you are collecting this information not for yourself but for some other person. 2. You can also pretend that you are a lawyer preparing to agree. Try to get all the facts both on your side and the other side of the case. You will generally find the truth lies somewhere in between.

3.

Whenever you are worried, write down the questions that make you worry. And write out all the various steps you could take and then the probable consequences of each step. For example, what am I worrying about? What can I do about it? Here is what I’m going to do about it. After carefully weighing all the facts, you can calmly come to a decision.

Act on that decision.

4. How can you break the worry habit before it breaks you? Crowd worry out of your mind by keeping busy. Plenty of action is one of the best ways to cure worry.

5. If you know a situation is beyond your power, say to yourself: “It is so; it can’t be otherwise.” Don’t permit little things to ruin your happiness. Try to cultivate a mental attitude that will bring you peace and happiness.

A. Analyze the facts.

B. Accept what can’t be avoided.

C. Decide how much anxiety a thing may be worth.

D. This will help you to take a cold and fair view of the evidence.

E. There comes a time when you must decide and never look back.

F. But here are two ideas that can help you see the facts in a clear and objective way.

G. Unless you take your action, all your fact-finding and analysis is a sheer waste of energy.

阅读下面短文,掌握其大意,从短文后所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

Years ago a professor gave a group of graduate students this assignment:Go to the slums(贫民窟).Take 200 boys between the ages of 12 and 16, investigate their ________ and environment and then ________ their chances for the future. The students,after ________ social statistics,talking to the boys and compiling(汇编) much data, ________ that 90 percent of the boys would spend some time in ________.

Twenty?five years later another group of graduate students were given the job of ________ the previous prediction. They went back to the ________ area. Some of the boys—now ________ —were still there,a few had died and some has moved away. But they managed to ________ 180 of the original 200. They found that only four of the boys had ever been sent to prison.

Why was it that these men,who had lived in a breeding place of ________,had such surprisingly ________ record?The researchers were ________ told. “Well,there was a ________.”

They investigated ________ and found that in 78 percent of the ________ it was the same woman. The researchers went to the teacher,now living in a home for ________ teacher. How had she had this remarkable ________ on that group of children?Could she give them any reason why these boys ________ her?“No,”she said,“I really couldn't.” And then,________ over the years,she said musingly(沉思地),more to herself than to her questioners,“I ________ these boys.” The researchers finally realized that it was the teacher's care that made a difference.

1.A. safetyB.nationalitiesC.healthD. backgrounds

2.A. adviseB.increaseC.predictD.check

3.A. consultingB.preparingC.offeringD.showing

4.A. discussedB.concludedC.introducedD.expected

5.A. businessB.schoolC.hospitalD.prison

6.A. testingB.explainingC.findingD.making

7.A. specialB.sameC.onlyD.lonely

8.A. workersB.teenagersC.menD.students

9.A. recordB.findC.knowD.trace

10.A. diseaseB.magicC.disasterD.crime

11.A. reliableB.goodC.detailedD.bad

12.A. normallyB.graduallyC.continuallyD.nearly

13.A. teacherB.doctorC.directorD.friend

14.A. tooB.insteadC.alreadyD.further

15.A. casesB.mannersC.statesD.ways

16.A. determinedB.well-knownC.retiredD.skilled

17.A. techniqueB.influenceC.courageD.advantage

18.A. rememberedB.rewardedC.treatedD.frightened

19.A. looking aroundB.going on

C.working outD.thinking back

20.A. persuadedB.remindedC.lovedD.taught

Different kinds of soil conservation methods are used by farmers to protect their land from damage by farming and the forces of nature. One important form of soil conservation is the use of windbreaks.

Windbreaks are barriers (屏障) formed by trees and other plants with many leaves. Farmers plant them in lines around their fields. Windbreaks stop the wind from blowing soil away. They also keep the wind from destroying or damaging crops. They are very important for growing grains, such as wheat.

There have been studies done on windbreaks in parts of West Africa, for example. They found that grain harvests can be twenty percent higher in fields protected by windbreaks compared to fields without such protection.

However, windbreaks seem to work best when they allow a little wind to pass through. If the wall of trees and plants stops wind completely, then violent air motions will take place close to the ground. These motions will lift soil into the air where it will be blown away. For this reason, a windbreak is best if it has only sixty to eighty percent of the trees and plants needed to make a solid line.

There should be at least two lines in each windbreak. One line should be large trees. The second line, right next to it, can be shorter trees and other plants with leaves. Locally grown trees and plants are best for windbreaks.

1.What is a windbreak according to the passage?

A. A windbreak is a concrete wall to prevent the strong winds.

B. A windbreak is a wood with different kinds of trees.

C. A windbreak is a wall of trees to hold soil in place.

D. A windbreak is a wall of wind to fight wind from the opposite way.

2.When can windbreaks be most effective?

A. The trees are planted one by one.

B. The trees and plants grow in a line.

C. The trees grow as high as they can.

D. Windbreaks allow a little wind to blow through.

3.Which of the following statements is NOT true?

A. A windbreak is one of the best forms of soil conversation.

B. A windbreak is very good for growing grains such as wheat.

C. One line of trees is enough for soil protection.

D. Locally grown trees and plants are the top choice for a windbreak.

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