An annoying problem for humans, who like to boast (夸耀) about all the distant planets and moons we have explored, is that we've never taken a good look right under our noses.The inside of the earth is relatively close but how can we get there?

The deepest oil well enters a mere six miles into the crust (地壳)  (the center of the earth is about 4,000 miles deeper).Russian scientists dug the deepest hole in Siberia," but bottomed out at about 7.5 miles below the surface.The Mohole project, a U.S.plan in the 1950s, called for drilling a hole 25 miles down to the boundary be??tween the hard rocks of the crust and the soft mantle (地幔).Sadly the project involved govern??ment supporting.

It gets harder and harder to drill deep into the earth because rocks get softer and softer. Hard but easily broken at the surface, rocks become plastic at depth, and the pressure caused by the weight of the overlaying crust — about 52,800 pounds per square inch at a depth of ten miles, makes further drilling impossible.

What little we know about the inside of the earth (like the fact that there' s a crust, a mantle, and a core) comes from indirect evidence, such as the analysis of earthquakes.

So maybe it' s time for a thorough new method to explore the earth's inside.Scientist David Stevenson says we should forget about drilling holes.Instead, we should open a crack (裂缝). 

Stevenson suggests digging a crack about a half mile long, a yard wide, and a half mile deep (not with a shovel) but with an explosion on the scale of a nuclear bomb.Next, he'd pour a few hundred thousand tons of molten (融化的) iron into the crack, along with a robot.The iron, thicker than the surrounding crust, would move downward at about 16 feet per second, carrying the robot with it and opening the crack deeper and deeper.The iron mass would drop for about a week and 2,000 miles to the outer edge of the earth core, the robot sending out data to the sur??face.

Stevenson compares his idea to space explo??ration."We're going somewhere we haven't been before," he says."In all possibility, there will be surprises."

This idea can probably be put in.the drawer marked with Isn't Going To Happen.The robot would have to survive temperatures that would melt pretty much anything.But Stevenson's idea may inspire a new look at an old problem.Great things can come from what seems like impossible ideas.

Going inside the earth is ________ than going into space.

A.more interesting B.more possible    C.easier            D.more challenging

How deep have we gone into the earth until now?

A.6 miles.         B.4,000 miles. C.7.5 miles.        D.25 miles.

Which of the following is TRUE about David Stevenson's idea?

A.It is an inspiring but not practical idea now.

B.It is a practical proposal that has come into use now.

C.It is a good proposal that will soon be put into practice.

D.It is a false theory that cannot be carried out at all.

What might be the most suitable title for the text?

A.An Annoying Problem for Humans

B.To the Center of the Earth

C.The Mohole Project

D.David Stevenson' s Proposal

Parking has long been a major headache for drivers in Shanghai. The Transportation Department is mapping out a new plan for the city’s parking system. There are one million cars on the road in Shanghai but only enough public parking space to provide room for 15 percent of these vehicles. It is no wonder that local drivers get so worried trying to find a place to park.
The city is seeing a rise in private car owners. In March, the city sent out 2,000 private car licenses, the highest number of licenses ever sent out in a month. And prices rose to 14,600 yuan, 500 more than in February. Industry experts say this suggests that local people have a strong, active interest in buying cars.
By the year 2020, the number of automobiles in Shanghai will probably reach two million. If one parking lot is for each car, then a lot of parking space should be built for these vehicles.
Downtown Shanghai is most short of parking space. However, experts point out that simply building more parking lots in downtown areas is not practical and doesn’t provide an ideal solution. The idea of “ Park & Ride” system has been suggested. This means that drivers can leave their vehicles in car parks nearby subway or bus stations and ride public transport to go downtown. Based on this idea, the city will limit the number of parking lots in downtown areas and demand higher parking fees but build more parking areas near main subway and bus stops.
【小题1】The underlined phrase “mapping out” in the first paragraph means __________.

A.makingB.arguingC.commandingD.requesting
【小题2】About __________ drivers can find places to park their cars in Shanghai now.
A.850,000B.1,000,000 C.150,000D.2,000,000
【小题3】What can we infer from the second paragraph?
A.The city sent out more private licenses in February.
B.Less and less people bought cars in March.
C.The city sent out less private licenses in March.
D.More and more people are going to buy cars.
【小题4】According to the idea of a “ Park & Ride ” system, the city will __________.
A.send out more private car licenses
B.build more parking lots near bus stops
C.encourage people to buy more cars
D.build more parking areas downtown

How old was I? I can’t recall. Maybe I was only 10, about to turn 11, making it the first Christmas after my father left, and left me to fill that sad, shattered place in my mother’s heart. Whenever it was, it was the Christmas the magic changed: the year I stopped being a wide-eyed child and tried eagerly to play Father Christmas myself. It was the Christmas of the coat.
Mom first saw the coat at Tobias, one of the nicer women’s stores in our town’s little mall. It was a deep forest green. A long, heavy, wool dress coat with side pockets. Mom pulled it out from the rack(架) and held it up. “Long enough,”she murmured and slipped it on.
“I need a new coat,” Mom smiled before the three-way mirror. She made any clothing look good, and this coat hugged her just right. She glanced at the price tag, then hung the coat back on the rack, pausing once more to feel the smooth brush of wool.
Eighty-seven dollars. But I didn’t think twice. As we moved on through the mall, I found some excuse to come back and ask one of the Tobias ladies to hold the coat.
At last I had the coat. The store ladies wrapped it in their biggest box with bright blue paper and a thick silver ribbon. I don’t remember how I got it home, but I can still feel the bursting excitement and pride that filled me each time I glimpsed at the beautifully wrapped gift hiding under my sweater. I would occasionally dig it out just to hold the box, to imagine the big space it would take up under our tree. Here it was ─ joy, peace, and love ─ all wrapped up, waiting for Mom’s loving gratitude.
36. That the writer’s mother felt the coat before they left the store showed that ____.
A. the coat was of good quality                 B. the coat was too expensive
C. she liked the coat very much                D. she’d get it in the end
37. The writer tried to act as Father Christmas in order to ____.
A. show he grew up                                               B. show he missed his father
C. bring his mother a surprise                            D. enjoy himself
38. The writer hid the coat under his sweater in order to ____.
A. imagine the space taken up under the Christmas tree
B. feel the strong feeling to his mother on Christmas
C. give his mother a big surprise on Christmas Day
D. keep the new coat tidy and orderly in the box
39. What can be the best title of this passage?
A. A Merry Christmas                                  B. Christmas of the Coat
C. A Deep Green Coat                                 D. Mother’s Merry Christmas

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