Scientists have found what look like caves on Mars(火星),and say they could be protecting life from the planet’s terrible environment.
Images of the Mars caves from Northern
Arizona University
The first caves discovered beyond the Earth appear as seven mysterious black dots on the pictures sent back by NASA’s Mars Odyssey orbiter.Each as large as a football field,they may be openings into natural caves below the Martian surface.
“If there is life on Mars,there is a good chance you’d find it in caves,”said Jut Wynne,one of the researchers who noticed the features while working on a US Geological Survey Mars Cave Detection Program.
Jonathan Clarke,a geologist with the Mars Society of Australia,yesterday described the discovery as exciting.
One photo taken at night by an infrared imager(红外线成像器) showed one hole to be unusually warm,suggesting hot air trapped during the day is flowing out.
“I said:‘Wow,that’s a cave’,”Dr.Clarke said excitedly.“People have been looking for these for a long time;now we have found them.”
He agreed such caves would be perfect places to hunt for life escaping from the bitterly cold,radiation-soaked(充满辐射的),dry surface.
“Tiny drops of water could collect inside,”he said.“If there are gases coming out,they could provide energy for a whole range of bacteria.A cave is also a protection from radiation;the surface of Mars is exposed to high levels of space radiation.”
The caves probably formed when tube-shaped lava flows(管状岩浆流) spread across the planet long ago.The outside of the tubes cooled,forming solid walls,while something hotter inside allowed the remaining lava to flow out,forming caves.
1.What does the passage mainly talk about?
A.How the caves were formed on Mars.
B.How scientists found these caves on Mars.
C.Caves on Mars may be full of hot air or a sign of life.
D.Scientists have completely recognized the surface of Mars.
2.We can learn from the passage that _______.
A.water has already been found on Mars
B.the scientists found all the caves at night
C.it is certain that there is life in these caves
D.the surface of Mars is bitterly cold,radiation-soaked and dry
3.According to the passage,Dr.Clarke was so excited because _______.
A.such caves could provide energy for life
B.they had finally found the caves on Mars
C.such caves would be perfect places to hunt for life
D.scientists had long been looking for these caves
4.Necessary conditions for life on Mars mentioned in the passage may include _______.
A.lava and energy
B.water and radiation from space
C.gases and lava
D.water and protection from radiation
A small town in southwest Britain is banning(禁止) plastic bags in an attempt to help the environment and cut waste—a step that environmentalists believe is a first for Europe.
Shopkeepers in Modbury population 1500,agreed to stop handing out disposable plastic bags to customers on Saturday.They said paper sacks and cloth carrier bags would be offered instead.
Last month,San Franciso became the first U.S. city to ban plastic grocery bags.Internationally,laws to discourage the use of plastic bags have been passed in parts of South Africa and Ireland,where governments either tax shoppers who use them or fine companies that hand them out.Bangladesh already bans them,and so do at least 30 remote Alaskan villages.
Modbury,about 225 miles southwest of London,has also declared a bag amnesty(宽限期),allowing local people to hand in plastic bags that have piled up at home.They will be sent for traveling.
The Modbury ban was the idea of Rebecca Hosking,who saw the effect of bags on marine life while working in the Pacific as a wildlife camerawoman.She said response(反应) in the town so far had been “really positive”.
“Modbury is quite an old-fashioned town and a lot of people have wicker baskets to go out shopping anyway,”Hosking told Sky News Television.
The Worldwatch Institute,an environmental research agency,states that 100 billion plastic bags are thrown away each year in the United States alone.More than 500 billion are used yearly around the world.
1.What was Rebecca Hosking?
A.A lawyer. B.An environmentalist.
C.A sailor. D.A photographer.
2.The underlined word “disposable” in the passage probably means _______.
A.acceptable B.valuable
C.throw-away D.long-lasting
3.It can be inferred from the passage that _______.
A.most of the people in Modbury continue to use plastic bags
B.fewer and fewer plastic bags will be used in the world
C.San Francisco is the first city to ban plastic bags in the world
D.most countries in the world have passed laws to ban plastic bags
4.Which of the following would be the best title of the passage?
A.Environmental Protection
B.Big Cities Banning Plastic Bags
C.Effect of Plastic Bags on Sea Animals
D.British Town Banning Plastic Bags
When I met him,I had a lot of anger inside of me.I’ve lived my whole life in Spanish Harlem,but in my neighborhood,there are shoot-ups all the time.I know kids who have been shot or beaten up.I have friends who ended up in prison.I could have ended up that way,too,but Mr.Clark wouldn’t let that happen.
Mr.Clark worked long hours,making sure I did my work.My grades rose.In fact,the scores of our whole class rose.One day,he took our class to see The Phantom of the Opera,and it was the first time some kids had ever been out of Harlem.Before the show,he treated us to dinner at a restaurant and taught us not to talk with our mouths full.We did not want to let him down.
Mr.Clark was selected as Disney’s 2000 Teacher of the Year.He said he would draw three names out of a hat;those students would go with him to Los Angeles to get the award.But when the time came to draw names,Mr.Clark said,“You’re all going.”
On graduation day,there were a lot of tears.We didn’t want his class to end.In 2001,he moved to Atlanta,but he always kept in touch.He started giving lectures about education,and wrote a bestselling book based on his classroom rules,The Essential 55.In 2003,Mr.Clark took some of us on a trip to South Africa to deliver school supplies and visit orphanages(孤儿院).It was the most amazing experience of my life.It’s now my dream to one day start a group of women’s clubs,helping people from all backgrounds.
1.Without Mr.Clark,the writer _______.
A.might have been put into prison
B.might not have won the prize
C.might have joined a women’s club
D.might not have moved to Atlanta
2.The Essential 55 is _______.
A.a show B.a speech
C.a classroom rule D.a book
3.How many students’ names were finally drawn out of a hat by Mr.Clark?
A.None. B.Three. C.Fifty-five. D.All.
4.In the passage,the writer intends to tell us that _______.
A.Mr.Clark went to South Africa because he liked traveling
B.Mr.Clark helped to set up a group of women’s clubs
C.a good teacher can help raise his or her students’ scores
D.a good teacher has a good influence on his or her students
阅读下面短文，从短文后所给各题的四个选项(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。
I grew up in a tiny Baltimore row house in a faraway mountain area.My parents 1the necessities of life 2they couldn’t give much more.If I asked my father 3a pair of jeans,he would say,“If you want them,make the money and buy them 4.”He wasn’t being mean;he just couldn’t 5them.From age 12 on,I did part-time jobs after school.
When I 6from high school,I joined the navy.Soon I was in a boot camp(新兵训练营) at Parris Island,S.C.,where I learned that life in the navy centered around completing daily 7.These could be anything from cleaning the camp to conducting mock(模拟的) battles.Completing these tasks successfully 8discipline,team-work and responsibility.It didn’t 9whether you were black,white or Asian;everyone worked together for the 10of the company.
I went 11to graduate from the U.S.Naval Academy and later became an officer in the navy.The part of my job I 12most was the consueling(咨询) meetings I 13with the family members of the men and women in my 14,trying to help them deal with the long periods of 15.These proved popular and word of them spread. 16I was being asked to give encouraging 17to business groups,educators and kids across the country.
But I consider the boot camp my first real 18,and my life is still guided by the 19lessons I learned there.It taught me discipline,friendship and the pride related to setting a task every day and working hard to 20it.
1.A.provided B.got C.made D.bought
2.A.while B.but C.so D.or
3.A.about B.with C.for D.of
4.A.themselves B.ourselves C.yourself D.myself
5.A.pay B.find C.produce D.afford
6.A.came B.returned C.escaped D.graduated
7.A.drills B.tasks C.exercises D.reports
8.A.included B.asked C.required D.met
9.A.matter B.mean C.exist D.work
10.A.good B.boss C.rest D.right
11.A.out B.on C.away D.off
12.A.took B.hated C.enjoyed D.did
13.A.ended B.began C.continued D.held
14.A.charge B.situation C.position D.choice
15.A.lessons B.meetings C.training D.separation
16.A.Long before B.Before long
C.As usual D.Once again
17.A.performances B.descriptions
C.speeches D.gifts
18.A.vacation B.place C.job D.travel
19.A.important B.bitter C.normal D.difficult
20.A.gain B.achieve C.show D.match
It is none of your business _______ other people think about you.Believe yourself.
A.how B.what C.which D.when
—Do you need any help,Lucy?
—Yes.The job is _______ I could do myself.
A.less than B.more than
C.no more than D.not more than
