It is always hard for a small fish to live in a big pond. Pluto's recent departure from the classical planet family clearly proves that size really matters.
Astronomers voted on August 24 to create the first scientific definition of the word planet, and Pluto obviously didn't make the cut. It turned out to be only a "dwarf planet" (矮行星). After weeks of heated debate, over 2,500 astronomers from 73 countries voted on the definition of a "planet" at a conference of the international Astronomical Union (IAU). According to the definition, a planet must have a clear neighborhood around its orbit. Pluto has widely been considered a planet since its discovery in 1930. Unfortunately, it has a special orbit which overlaps with Neptune's. It is all because, compared with Neptune, Pluto is very small. It is attracted by Neptune's gravity when the two planets get closer.
According to IAU, a "dwarf planet" should have an orbit around the Sun. It will not have a clear neighborhood around its orbit, and must not be a satellite. The new classification means that the science textbooks will have to be updated. The solar system is now made up of the eight "classical planets," together with a number of dwarf planets. The classical planets are: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. The debate over Pluto's status started in 1992. After an advanced telescope was sent into space, astronomers started find a belt of objects, which lies beyond Neptune. The belt contains nearly 1,000 objects, including Pluto. As they continued the exploration, scientists recently discovered at least 41 dwarf planets at the edges of the solar system. There are at least two objects of a similar size to Pluto.
It seems that even if the IAU had kept Pluto's status as a planet, the classical theory of nine planets in the solar system would have had to be changed, but the other way around. More dwarf, planets of a similar size to Pluto would join the family of planets. Scientists will probably find many more dwarf planets.
1.According to the passage, Pluto is .
A.a planet which has a clear neighborhood around its orbit |
B.a satellite of Neptune which was discovered in 1930 |
C.the smallest planet in the solar system |
D.a planet which has an orbit around the sun |
2.The sentence "It is always hard for a small fish to live in a big pond" quoted in the beginning of the passage is used to .
A.tell us a small fish can hardly survive in the big pond |
B.tell us the size of an object really matters |
C.mean that a small planet can hardly exist in the solar system |
D.explain the disappearanee of Pluto in the solar system |
3.From the last paragraph we can infer that if IAU kept Pluto's status as a planet, the number of planets in the solar system would be .
A.eight |
B.nine |
C.less than nine |
D.more than nine |
4.Which of the following statements is NOT true aceording to the passage?
A.According to definition of a "planet", if Pluto were bigger it would not have left the classic planet family. |
B.It's quite possible for dwarfs to lose if they compete with big men |
C.Pluto has a special orbit which overlap with Neptune's, because it is so small as to be attraeted by Neptune's gravity when the two planets get closer |
D.A "dwarf planet", which can not be a satellite without a clear neighborhood around its orbit, should have an orbit around the Sun. |
A few years ago, Pioneer Hi-Bred International, where I was employed. purchased Norand Corporation. Pioneer's sales representatives in the field used Norand hand-held terminals to upload daily sales information and download new price and sales incentive information. Pioneer bought so many of these hand-held-terminals, the economies made the purchase of Norand look interesting. Owning Norand also allowed Pioneer to explore high-technology markets outside agriculture.
But after a few years, the emerging laptop PC technology made the hand-held units obsolete (已废弃的). Pioneer sold Norand at a loss. Pioneer always took a given percent of the annual profits to divide equally among all employees, so our profit-sharing checks were lower than if Pioneer had not purchased Norand. Additionally, my Pioneer stock was lower than it had been before the purchase of Norand. I was not pleased.
The CEO of Pioneer, Tom Urban, made annual formal visits to each of the Pioneer divisions to talk about the state of the business and to listen to employees' concerns. When he walked into the meeting room for his first visit after the sale of Norand, he acknowledged the group, remove his jacket, and neatly folded it across the back of the chair. He loosened his tie, undid his collar and rolled up his sleeves.The next thing he said was the last thing I ever expected to hear a CEO say.
He said, "I made a mistake buying Norand and I am sorry. I am sorry your profit-sharing was lower because of the purchase, and I am sorry your stock was hurt by the purchase. I will continue to take risks, but I am a bit smarter now, and I will work harder for you."
A great man and leader stood before us that day. As I sat listening to him, I knew I could trust him, and that he deserved every bit of loyalty I could give to him and to Pioneer. I also knew I could take risks in my own job.
In the brief moment of silence before the questions started, I recall thinking that follow him into any battle.
1.All of the following are the results brought by Pioneer's purchase of Norand except .
A.Pioneer can explore high-technology markets outside agriculture |
B.Pioneer's sales representatives can upload information using Norand hand-held terminals |
C.some of Norand's employees joined the Pioneer |
D.it later led to the lower of profit-sharing checks of Pioneer's original employees |
2.The underlined sentence in the third paragraph is closest in meaning to .
A.the next thing he said was what I expected least to hear a CEO say |
B.the next thing he said was the last thing I heard from a CEO |
C.the next thing he said was what I expected most to hear a CEO say |
D.the next thing he said was what I heard from the last CEO |
3.Why did Tom Urban remove his jacket, loosen his tie, undo his collar and roll up his sleeves before he spoke?
A.He felt hot in the room. |
B.He wanted to look cool by doing this. |
C.He was too excited. |
D.He wanted to be close and frank with his employees. |
4.What did the employees feel after Tom Urban apologized to them?
A.They felt he was a stupid CEO. |
B.They felt he did not deserve their loyalty |
C.They felt he was more trustworthy. |
D.They didn't want to take risks with him. |
One family, which had emigrated from Japan and settled at the turn of the century near San Francisco, had established a business in which they grew roses and trucked them into San Francisco three mornings a week.
The other family was a naturalized(加入国籍的)family from Switzerland who also marketed roses, and 21 families became modestly successful, 22 their roses were known in the markets of San Francisco for their 23 vase-life.
For four decades the two families were neighbors, and the sons 24 the farms, but then on December 7, 1941, Japan 25 Pearl Harbor. Although the rest of the family members were American, the 26 of the Japanese family had never been naturalized. In the turmoil(动乱) and the questions about internment camps(拘留营), his neighbor made it clear that, if 27 , he would look after his friend’s nursery(花圃). It was 28 each family had learned in church—Love the neighbor as thyself. “You would do 29 for us, ” he told his Japanese friend.
It was not long before the Japanese 30 was transported to a poor landscape in Granada, Colorado. The relocation center consisted of tar-paper-roofed barracks (兵营) 31 by barbed wire and armed guards.
A full year went by. Then two. Then three. While the 32 neighbors were in internment, their friends worked in the greenhouses, the 33 before school and on Saturdays, and the father's work often stretched to 16 and 17 hours. And then 34 , when the war in Europe had
35 , the Japanese family packed up and 36 a train. They were going home.
What would they find? The family was 37 at the train station by their neighbors, and when they got to their home, the whole Japanese family stared.. There was the nursery, complete, clean and shining in the sunlight, neat, prosperous and healthy.
So was the balance of the bank passbook 38 to the Japanese father. And the house was 39 as clean and welcoming as the nursery.
And there on the dining room 40 was one perfect red rosebud, just waiting to unfold- the gift of one neighbor to another.
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假定你是育英中学的李华,将参加主题为“Let’s do exercise”的英语演讲比赛。请撰写一份演讲稿,主要内容包括:
1.进入高三阶段的学习之后面临的诸多问题;
2.进行体育锻炼的好处;
3.你的想法……
注意: 1. 词数100左右;
2.可以适当增加细节,以使行文连贯;
3. 演讲稿开头和结尾已给出,不计人总词数。
参考词汇:学习压力 the pressure from studying
学习效率 learning efficiency
Good morning, everyone,
May I take your attention, please? I am Li Hua from Yuying Middle School. The topic of my speech is “Let’s do exercise”
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文,请你修改你同桌的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误,每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加﹑删除或修改。
增加:在缺词处加一个漏字符号(∧),并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除:把多余的词用斜线(\)划掉。
修改:在错的词下划一横线,并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意:
1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词;
2.只允许修改10处,多者(从第11处起)不计分。
Knowing how to do in case of fire is important. If a fire break out, what would you do? First, you should warn everyone in the building about the danger. Don’t panic or start shouting. Be calmly and act quickly. Second, you and all the others should be get out of the building. Don’t stop take anything with you. Once you are out of the building, stay out. Do not go back for some reason. Finally, when you are out of the building, calling the fire police. Don’t try to put off the fire yourself. That can be dangerous if you do.
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.
If you find that your teacher is unfair to you, think about what is happening. Try to find out whether your teacher really dislikes you, or whether something else is going on. Here are some questions to ask yourself:
1 Ask your classmates if they are having trouble with the teacher, too. If they say yes, perhaps your teacher is to blame.
Are you working up to your ability? Maybe you got a C in your last test, and your teacher told you that you could do better. And the kid sitting beside you got a C, too. 2 Isn’t this unfair? Well, it could be that your teacher knows that you could do better if you put more effort into it. 3
4 There’s nothing wrong with being sensitive (敏感的) ,but if you react to criticism quite differently from others, this could be a reason why you think your teacher doesn’t like you.
Does your teacher seem to act unfairly all the time, or just once in a while? Think about the harsh (苛刻的) things your teacher has done to you. Are these things happening every day, or just once or twice a month? If your teacher really hates you, you would probably be picked on all the time. 5
A.Are you the only person being treated badly, or is your teacher rough on the whole class? |
B.Are you getting along well with your classmates? |
C. Are you more sensitive than other students? |
D. Are you interested in your lessons? |
E. If your teacher has acted unfairly only a few times, then there’s probably something else going on.
F. Teachers often grade students by different standards.
G. But the teacher didn’t say anything to him!