Astronomers （天文学家） say they are on the point of finding planets like Earth orbiting other stars, which is a key step in determining if we are alone in the universe．
A top NASA official and other leading scientists say that within four or five years they should discover the first Earth-like planet where life could develop, or may have already．A planet close to the size of Earth could even be found sometime this year．
At the annual American Astronomical Society conference this week, each discovery involving so-called “exoplanets” —those outside our solar system — pointed to the same conclusion：Quiet planets like Earth where life could develop probably are plentiful．
NASA’s Dew Kepler telescope and a lot of new research from the suddenly hot and competitive exoplanet field caused noticeable buzz at the meeting．Scientists are talking about being at “an incredible special place in history” and closer to answering the question．“Are we alone? For the first time, there’s an optimism that sometime in our lifetimes we’re going to get to the bottom of that,” said Simon Worden，an astronomer who heads NASA’s Ames Research Center．“If I were a betting man, which I am, I would bet we’re not alone．”
“These are big questions that reflect upon the meaning of the human race in the universe,” the director of the Vatican Observatory, the Rev．Jose Funes, said Wednesday in an interview at this week’s conference．
Worden told The Associated Press: “I would certainly expect in the next four or five years we’d have an Earth-sized planet in the habitable （可居住的） zone．”
1.What is very important in determining if we are alone in the universe?
A．Finding an Earth-like planet． B．Orbiting other stars．
C．Developing new telescopes． D．Finding more exoplanets．
2.What’s an exoplanet?
A．It’s a planet like Earth． B．It’s a planet outside our solar system．
C．It’s a planet orbiting the sun． D．It’s a planet where life have developed．
3.The underlined phrase “get to the bottom of” probably means “__________”．
A．understand fully
B．make full use of
C．search for
D．do more research on
4.From the passage we can learn that __________．
A．an Earth-like planet has been found
B．it’s been proved we are not alone in the universe
C．Jose Funes has found the meaning of the human race in the universe
D．the discovery of an Earth-like planet could happen in the near future
It is important that you make a good impression at work．If you make a good impression on your boss, he or she is more likely to give you more responsibilities which can lead to promotions （晋级） and raises．Here are some ways to make a good impression at work．
Use Proper Office Etiquette （礼仪）
Using proper manners will help you make a good impression on your boss and also your co-workers．Office etiquette includes everything from the proper way to e-mails to knowing when, where, and how to use your cell phone at work．
Face up to Your Mistakes
When you make a mistake at work, which everyone inevitably （不可避免地） does at some points, face up to it．Don’t ignore your error or place the blame on others．Take responsibility and come up with a solution to fix your mistake．Your boss may not be too happy about it, but she will at least be impressed with your response．
Know to Call in Sick
Do you think coming to work when you are sick instead of staying at home will impress your boss? Reasonable bosses know that a sick employee not only is unproductive but also he or she can spread an illness around the office．Call in sick when you are ill．
Come Through in a Crisis
When the unexpected happens at work, who will make a better impression on the boss? Of course it’s the employee who deals with the crisis quickly and effectively．
1.What would be the best title for the passage?
A．How to Use Good Etiquette
B．How to Deal with Mistakes at Work
C．How to Be a Good Worker in the Future
D．How to Make a Good Impression at Work
2.What should you do if you make a mistake at work?
A．Try to ignore the mistake．
B．Put the blame on others．
C．Think out a solution to your mistake．
D．Leave the company as soon as possible．
3.According to the writer, when you are ill you’d better _________．
A．go to work on time as usual
B．stay at home without telling others
C．go on working but stay away from others
D．stop working and ask for a leave
4.Who will make good impressions on the boss?
A．Employees who deal with the crisis quickly and effectively．
B．Employees who often make mistakes．
C．Employees who go to work though they are ill．
D．Employees who often use their cell phones at work．
Two teaching staff stood in court last week, in different parts of Britain, each charged with assault （人身侵犯） after attempting to remove a troublemaking student from the classroom．In both cases the men had been suspended（使暂时停职） from their schools and each had spent almost a year waiting for their cases to come to court．One man, Mark Ellwood, was cleared．The other was found guilty．Both cases show the almost impossible position teachers are now in as they try to keep order in schools．They have the responsibility for what goes on in classrooms, but it’s naughty pupils who have the power．
Ellwood was the comparatively lucky one．He was brought in to work with children with behavioral difficulties．When he asked a boy to take off his jacket and put away his phone, the pupil threatened to stab（刺） him．Ellwood removed the boy from the class, and when the boy started kicking him, Ellwood swept his feet from under him and lowered him to the ground．Weeks later he was charged with assault．Social services decided that the charge made him a potential risk to any child, so he was ordered to leave his wife and teenage daughters and move out of his home．The judges told him that they hoped he would now forget his nightmare and restart his life．
Sixty-two-year-old Michael Becker is the man who lost his case and will now lose his job．He taught in a special school．On the day of the incident, they were making pinhole cameras when the 15-year-old pupil arrived late．He refused to sit down, and instead walked around the classroom, telling jokes．He ignored several requests to start work and refused to leave the classroom when asked．Eventually Becker seized the boy by his belt and sweatshirt and removed him to a nearby storeroom, with the boy falling down as he struggled to break away．A teaching assistant, sent to check on him a few minutes later, found him sitting in the corridor, clearly unharmed．Becker considered the incident over, but the next day he was suspended as the subject of a police investigation．
1.Why did two British teachers stand in court?
A．Because they were charged with assault on their students．
B．Because they removed a troublemaking student from a classroom．
C．Because they were suspended from their schools．
D．Because they tried to keep order in schools．
2.According to the passage Ellwood __________．
A．was found guilty and lost his job B．was too strict with his students
C．often punished his students D．was lucky not to lose the case
3.When the incident happened, Michael Becker __________．
A．lost his case and will lose his job
B．was teaching his students to make pinhole cameras
C．ignored several requests to start work
D．was suspended as the subject of a police investigation
4.From the two cases we can learn in Britain __________．
A．removing students from the classroom is not allowed
B．teachers have no power to keep order in schools
C．students can do whatever they like in the classroom
D．it’s very difficult to be a teacher
Once there was an 11-year-old boy who went fishing with his father in the middle of a New Hampshire lake．On the day before bass （巴斯鱼） season opened, they were fishing early in the evening, catching other fish with worms．Then the boy tied on a small silver lure （鱼饵） and put it into the lake．Suddenly he felt that something very big pulling on the lure．His father watched with admiration as the boy skillfully brought the fish beside the bank．Finally he lifted the tired fish from the water．It was the largest one he had ever seen, but it was a bass．
The boy and his father looked at the big fish．The father lit a match and looked at his watch．It was 10 pm – two hours before the season opened．He looked at the fish, then at the boy．“You’ll have to put it back, son,” he said．
“Dad!” cried the boy, “There will be other fish,” said his father．“Not as big as this one,” cried the boy．He looked around the lake．No other fishermen or boats were in sight in the moonlight．He looked again at his father．
Even though no one had seen them, nor could anyone ever know what time he had caught the fish, the boy could tell from his father’s voice that the decision couldn’t be changed．He threw the huge bass into the black water．The big fish disappeared．The boy thought that he would never again see such a big fish．
That was 34 years ago．Today the boy is successful architect in New York City．He often takes his own son and daughters to fish at the same place．
And he was right．He has never again caught such a large fish as the one he got that night long ago．But he does see that same fish … again and again … every time he has an ethical （伦理的，道德的） decision to make．For, as his father had taught him, ethics are simple matters of right and wrong．It is only the practice of ethics that is difficult．
1.What happened when the big fish turned out to be a bass?
A．The boy and his father discussed what to do with the big fish．
B．The boy threw the bass back into the water willingly．
C．The father lit a match in order to check the time．
D．They worried other fishermen may discover what they had done．
2.From the text we know that the father _________．
A．didn’t love his son B．always disagreed with his son
C．disliked the huge fish D．was firm and stubborn
3.The successful architect went fishing with his children at the same place because _________．
A．they might catch a big fish there B．he was taught a moral lesson there
C．it was a most popular fishing spot D．their children enjoyed fishing there
4.What does the story imply?
A．It is easy to say something, but difficult to do．
B．An ethical decision is always easy to make．
C．It’s hard to tell right from wrong sometimes
D．Fishing can help one to make right decisions．
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从各题所给的四个选项中，选出最佳选项。
After years of searching, a truth seeker was told to go to a cave, in which he would find a well．“Ask the well what is 1, ” he was advised, “and the well reveal （告诉，揭露） it to you．” Having found the well, the seeker asked that most basic and important 2．And from the depths came the answer: “Go to the village crossroad, and there you shall find what you are seeking．”
Full of 3the man ran to the crossroad to 4only three rather uninteresting shops．One shop was selling pieces of metal, another sold 5, and thin wires were for sale in the third．Nothing and no one there seemed to 6much to do with the revelation of truth．
Disappointed, the seeker returned to the well to demand an 7, but he was told only: “You will 8in the future．”
As years went by, the 9of his experience at the well gradually 10until one night, while he was walking, the sound of sitar （西塔琴） music 11his attention．It was wonderful and it was 12with great skill and inspiration．
Deeply 13, the truth seeker felt drawn towards the 14．He looked at the fingers dancing over the strings．And then suddenly he let out a cry of joyful 15: the sitar was made out of wires and pieces of metal and wood just like 16he had once seen in the three stores．
At last he understood the 17of the well: we have already been given everything we need; our 18is to assemble （聚集） and use them in the proper way．Nothing is 19so long as we recognize only fragments （碎片）．But as soon as the pieces are put together, something new appears, whose nature we could not have 20by considering the fragments alone．
1.A．truth B．hope C．future D．music
2.A．fact B．reason C．question D．well
3.A．energy B．hope C．mystery D．surprise
4.A．get B．count C．find D．open
5.A．instruments B．clothing C．food D．wood
6.A．connect B．have C．prepare D．offer
7.A．explanation B．advice C．excuse D．opportunity
8.A．succeed B．discover C．pay D．understand
9.A．bitterness B．failure C．memory D．secret
10.A．doubled B．forgot C．disappeared D．recovered
11.A．paid B．lost C．split D．caught
12.A．played B．broadcast C．enjoyed D．conducted
13.A．annoyed B．moved C．confused D．frightened
14.A．adviser B．director C．composer D．player
15.A．admiration B．distinction C．recognition D．imagination
16.A．those B．that C．it D．them
17.A．secret B．message C．theory D．benefit
18.A．target B．difficulty C．task D．shortcoming
19.A．interesting B．meaningful C．accessible D．successful
20.A．foreseen（预见） B．decided
C．judged D．formed
On the top of the hill _________ the old man once lived．
A．a temple stands there in which B．stands a temple where
C．a temple standing on which D．does a temple stand where
