| 1. 难度：中等 | |
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It was July 1976. An unmanned spaceship, Viking One, had arrived at Mars. On July 20th, the spaceship . Part of it continued toward a landing on the planet. It fell through the late afternoon Mars’ sky. Forty kilometers above the planet, the thin began to slow its fall. Six kilometers above the planet a big parachute(降落伞)opened. The landing craft fell more slowly. Then, three rocket engines . And the landing craft set down on the surface. in the Viking One Lander immediately sent a message to the earth. It said, “I am here. I am down safely. I am beginning my work. ” The message at the speed of light. It took twenty minutes to reach the earth, more than three hundred and twenty million kilometers . Scientists and engineers at the control center . Moments later, television receiver in the control center began to the first picture from Viking One. People at the center could see the feet of the landing craft sitting firmly on the 11 soil of Mars. Those pictures were our first look at the planet. They showed a red surface, full of rocks, with no sign of . It was our first look at a planet that is full of surprises, mysteries and promise. Viking One was launched toward Mars in August, 1975. The spaceship had two : an orbiter(轨道飞行器)and a lander(着陆器). The orbiter would circle Mars. It would take pictures of Mars’ surface. It would the atmosphere. The would go down to the surface. It would carry to dig up and study soil and . It also would report about any evidence of life on the planet. The lander would send this to the orbiter and then back to the earth. 1.A. separated B. appeared C. workedD. started 2. A. correctly B. slowly C. quickly D. directly 3. A. airB. universe C. spaceD. atmosphere 4.A. firedB. fellC. openedD. floated 5. A. heavilyB. softly C. suddenlyD. immediately 6. A. A computerB. A rocket C. A pilotD. An astronaut 7.A. spreadB. traveledC. shotD. moved 8. A. farB. longC. distantD. away 9.A. shoutedB. watched C. cheeredD. welcomed 10. A. makeB. takeC. showD. search 11. A. redB. brownC. grayD. black 12.A. carefulB. closeC. realD. clear 13. A. menB. lifeC. treesD. air 14.A. partsB. rocketsC. enginesD. centers 15. A. throughB. towardsC. overD. around 16. A. enterB. examine C. collectD. discover 17. A. orbiterB. lander C. spaceshipD. rocket 18. A. engineersB. astronauts C. parachutesD. instruments 19. A. surfaceB. treesC. rocksD. pictures 20.A. spaceshipB. rocket C. landerD. information
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| 2. 难度：中等 | |
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One night in March 1999, a man was driving from California to Oregon, US, to visit some friends. He had stopped his car to have some food when he started to hear strange noises. Turning on the headlights, he saw an 8-foot-tall creature covered in thick, dark hair. The creature stared at him for a minute, turned in the road and walked off slowly into the woods.
In the past 50 years alone, there have been thousands of reported sightings of similar creatures in the US, Canada, the Himalayas(喜马拉雅山地区)and even Hubei Province in China. The creature is known as bigfoot. Bigfoot is said to be a very tall(between 2 and 4. 5 metres), ape-like(类人猿似的)creature that is covered in hair and walks upright on two legs. It is very wary(警惕的)of human beings. Believers think bigfoot is a direct descendent(后代)of ancient gigantopithecus(巨猿). But it remains one of the planet’s undiscovered secrets. There is a little evidence(证据)to support the believers’ theory: traces of hair, footprints and body prints as well as the reported sightings. Some people have even showed what they say with photos or films of bigfoot. But so far, no one has found bones or any other definite proof that the giant creature exists. As a result many people believe the evidence is just part of a big trick. The footprints are easy to make and they say: all you need to do is to make two large feet out of plaster(石膏), attach them to the bottom of your shoes and walk with big steps. As for the photos and films, they are just people dressed in ape suits. They also say the sightings are not real, just people making mistakes. For example, bigfoot could be a bear living in the wild that sometimes stands up on its back legs. 1. So far what we can be sure about is that . A. there exist savages(野人)in several places in the world B. there are some traces of hair, footprints and body prints of the “bigfoot” C. bigfoot is a direct descendent of ancient gigantopithecus D. all the big foot discovered have the same look 2.It was in that man first found the ape-like creature. A. 1999B. the 1960’s C. the 1950’sD. the 1940’s 3. The article infers but doesn’t say so that some people bigfoot’s existence. A. may fool the world into believing B. have definite evidences to prove C. refuse to believe D. will soon offer proofs of 4.If bigfoot is just a misunderstanding, what they saw might NOT be . A. apes B. bears C. gigantopithecus D. people dressed in animal skins
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| 3. 难度：中等 | |
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Every people uses its own special word to show its ideas and feelings. Some of these expressions are commonly used for many years. Others are popular for just a short time. One such American expression is “Where’s the beef? ”It is used when something is not as good as it is said to be. In the early 1980s“Where’s the beef? ”was one of the most popular expressions in the United States. It seemed as if everyone using it at the time.
Beef, of course, is the meat from a cow, and this kind of food is more popular in America than a hamburger made from beef. In the 1960s a businessman named Ray began building small restaurants that sold hamburgers at a low price. Ray called this “McDonald’s”. Ray became one of the richest businessmen at last in America. Other business people watched his success. Some of them opened their own hamburger restaurants. One company called “Wendy’s” said its hamburgers were bigger than those sold by McDonald’s or anyone else. The Wendy’s Company began to use the expression “Where’s the beef ? ”to make people know that Wendy’s hamburgers were the biggest. The Wendy’s television advertisement showed three old women eating hamburgers. The bread that covered the meat was very big, but inside there was only a bit of meat. One of the women said she would not eat a hamburger with such a little piece of beef. “Where’s the beef? ”she shouted in a funny way. The advertisement for Wendy’s hamburger restaurants was success. As we said, it seemed everyone began using the expression “Where’s the beef? ”. 1. started McDonald’s restaurant. A. RayB. McDonald C. WendyD. Three old women 2. Other people wanted to open hamburger restaurants because they thought . A. they could sell hamburgers at a low price B. hamburgers were easy to make C. beef was very popular in America D. they could make a lot of money 3.Wendy’s made the expression known to everybody . A. with many old women eating hamburgers B. by a television advertisement C. while selling bread with a bit of meat in it D. at McDonald’s restaurant 4. We can learn from the passage that the expression “Where’s the beef ? ” means . A. The beef in hamburgers is not as much as it is said to be B. The hamburgers are not as good as they are said to be C. It is used when something is not as good as it is said to be D. Wendy’s is the biggest
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