阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。
NASA has a new job listing, and it’s no joke. The US space agency is looking for a “joker” to join their 1. (plan) mission to Mars.
A mission to Mars is no laughing matter. 2. is known that Mars is 225 million kilometers away from Earth. A trip there would take around eight months in a small spacecraft. “When you’re living with others in a confined (封闭的) space for a long period of time, such as on a mission to Mars, problems are likely 3. (happen)” Jeffrey Johnson, a scientist at the University of Florida, 4. (say) to the Guardian. This is probably 5. NASA wants an astronaut with a sense of humor. “These are people that have the 6. (able) to pull everyone together.” Johnson said.
In 7. (stress) situations, perhaps humor is a way to know we aren’t alone. We can share our stress by 8. (laugh) together. Then we can focus on our jobs instead of just worrying.
But if you’re hoping that your favorite TV comedian will fly to Mars, that 9. (possible) won’t happen. “Being funny won’t be enough to land somebody the job,” Johnson said, “They also need to be an excellent scientist and engineer.” Besides, it’s required that they 10. (be) in top physical condition.
Nobody can inspire us like great teachers. They show us things about ourselves we can’t see. They see ________ in us that others, including ourselves can’t or won’t see. ________ they give us the courage to find our own way and enough ________ to show us that what we feel ________ is anything but that.
When Bill Gates ________ Seattle’s View Ridge Elementary School, he was a really unattractive and shy fourth grader. ________ a kindly librarian named Blanche Caffiere, he was ________ to come into his own in a way that would one day ________ the world forever. Gates sets the stage for this tale like this:
“When I first met Mrs Caffiere, she was the elegant and engaging school ________, and I was a shy fourth grader. I was ________ trying to go unnoticed, because I had some big shortcomings, like terrible handwriting…and I was trying to hide the ________ that I liked to read - something that was cool for girls but not for boys… Mrs Caffiere took me under her wing.”
He was grateful to Mrs Caffiere for helping him become less ________, which resulted from the true spirit of ________ teaching. First she encouraged Gates’ enthusiasm for ________ by helping him explore it through the use of introspective (内省的) questions, ________ what he liked to read and why. Next, she would go out of her ________ to source books that were ________ more interesting and challenging for him. Finally, ________ he’d read them, she would sit down with him and ask him if he liked what he had read, and more ________ what he’d learned and why. “She basically ________ what I had to say.” Gates recalled.
1.A.ambition B.distinction C.potential D.discrimination
2.A.Above all B.For instance C.In consequence D.By contrast
3.A.guidance B.success C.science D.intelligence
4.A.unconditional B.unbelievable C.incorrect D.impossible
5.A.built B.attended C.designed D.finished
6.A.Apart from B.But for C.Thanks to D.Regardless of
7.A.willing B.anxious C.eager D.able
8.A.change B.discover C.enjoy D.create
9.A.supporter B.librarian C.principal D.owner
10.A.amazedly B.desperately C.proudly D.helplessly
11.A.fact B.concept C.event D.conclusion
12.A.unattractive B.typical C.shy D.unnoticed
13.A.active B.significant C.fundamental D.remarkable
14.A.listening B.reading C.speaking D.writing
15.A.together with B.instead of C.such as D.as for
16.A.business B.house C.way D.office
17.A.naturally B.progressively C.frequently D.extraordinarily
18.A.until B.once C.although D.unless
19.A.honestly B.seriously C.strictly D.importantly
20.A.listened to B.stuck to C.referred to D.turned to
Parents of children and teens who play football may worry about their bodies getting injury. Younger football players have the lowest chance of injury. 1. Therefore, it’s necessary for players to know the rules of playing football whether they are young or old. The following can be used to reduce the chance of injuries while players are still enjoying the game.
2. The American Academy of Pediatrics advises players and their families talk about whether the risks of injury outweighs the benefits of playing football. Football has many benefits, including regular exercise, learning to be part of a team,and social growth and development. Families who decide to play can take steps to reduce the chances of serious injury.
Play by the rules. When players know the rules of the game—what’s legal and what’s not—fewer injuries happen. 3. For example, players should know that in football they can’t come from behind, crash into a player’s legs, and steal the ball. It’s legal and safer to go after the ball rather than the player.
Wear legal equipment. 4. Because illegal equipment leads to serious injuries of the head and neck. It’s also the leading cause of severe injuries in football,but remember the protection of legal equipment doesn’t depend on its quantity.
Get good training. Players should learn the right way to use a tackle (装备). 5. Correct training could lower injury for younger players. Older players could be at a greater risk of injury if they first learn to use tackle and never learn the correct skill.
A. Take steps to lower football injury.
B. Weigh the risks and benefits.
C. The more legal equipment players wear, the less injury they will get.
D. Legal equipment can give football players important protection.
E. Players should know what to expect from each other.
F. Doing this and practicing the skills often make sure players are correctly trained.
G. As players get older, stronger and faster, the chance of injury goes up.
Scientists are attempting to extract (提取) cells from a 40,000-year-old horse in hope of using the sample to clone the extinct (灭绝的) species back into existence. The male baby horse was discovered in 2018 in permafrost (永冻土) in northeastern Siberia of Russia.
A team of scientists from South Korea and Russia believes the young horse, called the Lenskaya or Lena horse, was about 20 days old when it died. The species of horse, now extinct, is between 30,000 and 40,000 years old. Thanks to the terrible coldness, the animal’s tissue was preserved enough for the scientists to obtain samples.
Semyon Grigoriev, head of the lab at the Mammoth (猛犸象) Museum of the North-Eastern Federal University in Yakutsk, said the horse was “well - preserved” and a “great find”. There is no damage to the horse’s body and even its hair is undamaged. The unfortunate animal, according to Gngo-riev, “could have drowned after falling into some kind of a natural trap.”
Hwang Woo-suk, a researcher from South Korea working on the project, said, “If researchers find a cell, they will do their best to clone the animal. If we get live cells from this ancient baby horse, it would be wonderful in terms of cloning.”
After that, they will make a cloned embryo (胚胎) and a female horse carry it as its mother. Hwang said modern-day horses are “very similar to the ancient one,” so there would be no problem getting help from a modern-day female horse.
The scientists are hoping the experiment on the baby horse will give them experience in progressing toward their ambitious goal-bringing back the extinct woolly mammoth.
“If we manage to clone the horse-it will be the first step to cloning the mammoth.” Hwang said.
1.Why was the Lenskaya horse kept in good condition?
A.The temperatures were extremely low. B.It was buried under the ground.
C.Alocal museum had preserved it. D.It died quite young.
2.What do we know about the baby horse?
A.It was a female horse. B.It might have died by accident.
C.Its hair was partly destroyed. D.Its tissue can hardly be found.
3.What must the researchers do before cloning the extinct horse?
A.Know more about extinct ancient horses. B.Make an embryo i a female horse.
C.Find an ideal modern - day female horse. D.Get live cells from the baby horse.
4.What can be the best title for the text?
A.A new horse species found in Siberia B.How to preserve ancient animals’ tissues
C.Scientists attempt to clone extinct horse D.How to extract cells from extinct species
Laughter is a kind of universal body language that is shared by people of all nationalities, skin colors, cultures and traditions. But did you know that the ability to tell real laughter apart from fake (假的) laughter also varies among cultures?
Greg Bryant, a professor of communication at the University of California, published a study in late July. In the study, 884 people from 21 countries were asked to listen to random recordings of laughter. Some of the recordings were made up of laughs from the bottom of the heart, while others were made by people who were asked to laugh on command.
The study showed that people around the world have the ability to pick out real laughter, although their abilities vary from country to country. Residents of the Samoan Islands, were particularly good at it, correctly identifying real laughter 56 percent of the time. According to Bryant, people from smaller, less industrialized nations “are more accurate in identifying a natural smile” because they rely heavily on emotional engagement in order to predict others’ behavior and create stronger social relationships.
But how do people from different cultures detect natural laughter so easily? And what characters does real laughter have? As Professor Jessica Wolf of the University of California told the Association for Psychological Science, in real laughter, we produce qualities, such as higher pitch (音调) and volume, as well as faster bursts of no clear sounds.
By contrast, fake laughter will “sound like speech”. According to Science Daily, fake laughter is controlled by the same brain system that controls the lips and tongue. Bryant further explained that this system has active ability, saying “with this speech system, you can make a lot of different noises, including crying, laughter or scream. That’s where fake laughter comes from”.
So that? s something to think about: next time one of your friends laughs at something you say, will you be able to tell if it’s real or fake?
1.What did the study find?
A.Real laughter is produced from people’s heart.
B.People can tell real laughter from fake laughter.
C.People have trouble recognizing real laughter.
D.Laughter is a kind of universal body language in the world.
2.Why are residents of Samoan accurate in identifying natural laughter?
A.They put much emotion to knowing others.
B.They often predict others’ behaviors.
C.They aren’t well educated.
D.They have a strong social relationship.
3.What characters does real laughter have?
A.Clearer words. B.Slower speed.
C.Higher sound. D.More like a speech.
4.What can we learn about the fake laughter system?
A.It controls ears and eyes.
B.It works like speech systems.
C.It encourages people to copy others.
D.It can make people produce various noises.
Many seniors feel pressured to go straight from high school to college, but Camden Olson, who graduated from the Latin School of Chicago in the US last year, didn’t give in. She decided to spend a gap year-taking a year off before college-raising a guide dog for Guiding Eyes for the Blind in Maine. The non - profit provides trained guide dogs to blind and visually - impaired (视力障碍的) people. “This is something I’ve always wanted to do.” Olson said.
It is becoming more and more popular among American teenagers to have a gap year. Some students use the year off to figure out what they want to do: travel the world or save money for college.
Olson is using her time to follow a passion she’s had since 7th grade. For years, she kept an eye on guide dog services until she came across the opportunity at Guiding Eyes. With support from her friends, family and teachers, Olson went for it. Olson’s volunteer work centers around Derby, a one-year-old black dog.
“My job is to raise him to be well-mannered and socialized,” she said. “Guide dogs can’t be distracted. They go everywhere with their visually-impaired owner. They give a blind person a lot of support, too.”
Of course, there’s an end in sight for Derby and Olson’s close bond. When Derby celebrates his own graduation, Olson will have to say goodbye to him.
“No doubt there will be tears, but, if he passes, I will be so happy for him to become a working dog,” she said.
While some do not agree that gap years are a good choice, Olson said she’s seen major success. In fact, she’ll be attending Princeton University soon and is thinking about majoring in biology.
“I think I’m already so much more mature than I was,” she said. “So many kids come back from gap years a lot more focused and prepared.”
1.Why did Camden Olson decide to spend her gap year working for Guiding Eyes?
A.Because her parents talked her into doing it.
B.Because many of her peers had already chosen to do so.
C.Because it had been her dream for a long time.
D.Because it would help her to make her experienced in work.
2.According to Olson, guide dogs should ________.
a. not be easily distracted
b. be well-mannered and easy-going
c. know how to play some tricks for their owners
d. give their visually impaired people support
e. protect their blind people from all possible dangers
A.a, b, c B.a, b, d
C.b, c, e D.b, d, e
3.How did Olson feel when she said goodbye to Derby?
A.Quite happy. B.Sad but glad.
C.Regretful and sad. D.Nervous and disappointed.
4.What does Olson think about the idea of a gap year?
A.It makes people better prepared for the future.
B.Whether it’s good or not depends on the person.
C.Its negative side outweighs its positive side.
D.It makes sure of a student’s success at college.
