三、阅读理解

(A)

For hundreds of years humans have dreamt of finding life on distant planets. Now the hope of discovering real evidence of life has greatly increased.

NASA’s Mars detector (探测器), Opportunity, succeeded in finding signs that water once existed on the planet. Opportunity landed on Mars in January. Scientists now believe that the planet could once have supported life.

This discovery was chosen by Science, one of the world’s leading magazines, as the most important scientific achievement of 2004 last Friday.

“This little, wheeled, one-armed box went around another planet and has done something no human has ever managed,” according to Science. “It has discovered another place in the universe where life could once have existed.”

“Although we still can’t say that life could have existed in this environment, it is now certain that there was water on Mars,” said Steve Squyres, one of the scientists working on the Mars mission. The evidence comes from pictures and chemical readings taken by Opportunity. It includes marks on rocks like those caused by flowing water on Earth and salty chemicals like those found in dried-out sea-beds. Scientists said the new evidence proved beyond doubt that water has been existed on Mars. But it is still unknown whether the water on Mars was like an ocean or just ice.

While Opportunity has not found any signs of life, the presence of water means life is possible. “In everything we know about life on Earth, there is no example without liquid water,” Squyres said. “So water is important for the search for life on Mars.”

Researchers agree that a future mission (任务) should bring back physical samples (样品). But some scientists worry about the risk that this could introduce dangerous foreign creatures to Earth. “The problem here is how to get the samples back,” Squyres replied. “I think it is our responsibility to limit any risk.” (from  nmet168.com)

56. ________ prove that water existed on Mars.

A. The physical samples with salty chemicals

B. The marks on rocks and salty chemicals

C. Scientific achievements of 2004

D. Creatures from Mars

57. Which of the following is true according to the text?

A. It is now certain that there was water on Mars.

B. The water on Mars was like an ocean.

C. Evidence of life on Mars has been found.

D. Search for life on Mars is a great risk to humans.

58. How did scientists draw the conclusion that there was water on Mars?

A. The world’s leading magazine has announced the fact.

B. Scientists have taken many pictures and chemical readings on the Mars.

C. Astronauts have got some rocks from Mars.

D. Scientists have made a study of the pictures and readings sent back by Mars detector.

59. It can be inferred that, if the creatures from Mars came to Earth, ________.

A. they would be kind to humans   

B. they would be cruel to humans

C. they would be a great danger to Earth

D. it would be hard to say whether it would be a good news or bad news 

(B)

He was once referred to as the Picasso of poetry. Beloved by Chileans of all classes, he is one of the most widely read and respected poets in history. And this year is the 100th birthday of Pablo Neruda (1904-1973).

Born with the name Neftali Ricardo Reyes Basolto, he was a tall, shy and lonely boy. He loved to read and started to write poetry when he was ten. The American poet Walt Whitman, whose framed picture Neruda later kept on his table, became a major influence on his work.

However, his father did not like the idea of having a poet for a son and tried to discourage him from writing. To cover up the publication of his first poem, he took the pen name Pablo Neruda.

In 1924 Neruda gained fame with his most widely read work “Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair’’. Yet his rich experience as a diplomat and exile made him go beyond the theme of love. His work also reflected the political struggle of the left and development of South America. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971.

Neruda loved the sea which he saw as creative, destructive and forever moving. He found inspiration in the power and freedom of the waves and the seabirds on the coast. “I need the sea because it teaches me,” he wrote. “I move in the university of the waves.” He loved how the sea forever renewed itself, a renewal echoed in his work.

60. The underlined word “Picasso” can probably be replaced by “________”.

A. most important person                      B. famous person from Picasso

C. freedom fighter in Picasso                 D. poem fan

61. Neftali Ricardo Reyes Basolto took the pen name Pablo Neruda because ________.

A. literary greats usually used the pen name

B. his father encouraged him to use the name

C. he wanted to prevent his father knowing the publication

D. he was greatly influenced by other poets

62. Which of the following is not the theme of his works?

A. Love.                                             B. Political struggle.

C. Social reform.                                 D. Development of South America.

63. The last paragraph mainly tells us ________.

A. the sea gave Neruda vast writing inspiration

B. the beautiful scenery along the Chile coast

C. Neruda’s poems were widely read overseas

D. Neruda loved to write his poems near the sea

上一页  [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]  ... 下一页  >>