The next great land area that man hopes to control is the moon. In size it is nearly equal to the area of North and South America. However, it presents a hostile (不友好的) environment. Temperatures range +120 to -150 degrees Centigrade. There is no air, and no water.
Today there is considerable scientific speculation (思索) about living on the moon. When man will begin life on the moon surface is still not determined. But experts believe that settlement will take place in three steps. First, there will be increasing periods of exploration with temporary shelters. These periods will be followed by longer stays with housing under the surface of the moon and daily necessities brought by the settlers themselves from the earth. Finally, settlements that are self-supporting will be founded.
The main job of the early settlers will be to stay alive. They will have to plant crops under huge domes (圆顶屋) to produce food and oxygen and find water sources. After this is done, the settlers will have time to explore the possibilities of commercial (商业的) development and to make discoveries important to science. The characteristics of the moon that make it bad for human staying alive may make it ideal for certain kinds of manufacturing . Operations requiring a vacuum (真空) or extreme cold are examples. Therefore, industrial diamonds might be produced on the moon.
1.The area of the moon is _________.
A. about the same as that of North and South America
B. larger than that of North and South America
C. hardly equal to that of North and South America
D. far smaller than that of North and South America
2.To stay alive on the moon, first of all the early settlers must be able to ______.
A. get enough food, oxygen and water
B. develop commerce
C. make discoveries important
D. explore the possibilities of industrial development
3.Though the environment on the moon is bad for human staying alive, it is very good for ________.
A. all kinds of manufactured goods
B. commercial development
C. making such things as industrial diamonds
D. medical operations
Most people know that Marie Curie was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize, and the first person to win it twice. However, few people know that she was also the mother of a Nobel Prize winner.
Born in September, 1987, Irene Curie was the first of the Curies’ two daughters. Along with nine other children whose parents were also famous scholars, Irene studied in their own school, and her mother was one of the teachers. She finished her high school education at the College of Sevigne in Paris.
Irene entered the University of Paris in 1914 to prepare for a degree in mathematics and physics. When World War I began, Irene went to help her mother, who was using X-ray facilities to help save the lives of wounded soldiers. Irene continued the work by developing X-ray facilities in military hospitals in France and Belgium. Her services were recognized in the form of a Military’s Medal by the French government.
In 1918, Irene became her mother’s assistant at the Curie Institute. In December 1924, Frederic Joliot joined the Institute, and Irene taught him the techniques required for his work. They soon fell in love and were married in 1926. Their daughter Helene was born in 1927 and their son Pierre five years later.
Like her mother, Irene combined family and career. Like her mother, Irene was awarded a Nobel Prize, along with her husband, in 1935. Unfortunately, also like her mother, she developed leukemia(白血病) because of her work with radioactivity（放射性）. Irene Joliot-Curie died from leukemia on March 17, 1956.
1.Why was Irene Curie awarded a Military Medal?
A. Because she received a degree in mathematics.
B. Because she contributed to saving the wounded.
C. Because she won the Nobel Prize with Frederic.
D. Because she worked as a helper to her mother.
2.Where did Irene Curie meet her husband Frederic Joliot?
A. At the Curie Institute.
B. At the University of Paris.
C. At a military hospital.
D. At the College of Sevigne.
3.When was the second child of Irene Curie and Frederic Joliot born?
A. In 1932. B. In 1927.
C. In 1897. D. In 1926.
4.In which of the following aspects was Irene Curie different from her mother?
A. Irene worked with radioactivity.
B. Irene won the Nobel Prize twice
C. Irene combined family and career.
D. Irene won the Nobel Prize once
1.Laughter is beneficial to health and perhaps this e________ the long lives of some famous comedians such as Bob Hope and George Burns.
2.You always hear about planes being delayed because of t__________ problems.
3.China has always been trying to s__________ its economic ties with European countries.
4.The twins are so alike that I can hardly tell them a________.
5.At the meeting, he expressed his a__________ for the kindness we had done for his team.
6.The s________ of innocent people caused by the war cannot be compensated for by money.
7.When you laugh, the muscles p_________ in the laugh become active, which is like a deep-breathing exercise.
8.Although it happened many years ago, it still remains in the d_________ of my soul.
9.He is such a c_______ boys, always asking questions about the world around him.
10.More than half the staff are t________--they will quit when the harvest season ends.
I used to be the messiest person alive. Over the years, through watching others and by trial and error, I have finally found ways to come up with plans, organize them and follow through with them.
Make an outline of everything you need to have and do to make your plan happen. Make a list of all of the steps that need to be accomplished and think about what needs to be done.
Detail everything thoroughly and read over it so you can start coming up with some mental solutions of how to carry out your plans.
You should ensure that if for some reason way one doesn’t work, you have way two and way three to lean back on. Therefore, different ways are needed at hand. It’s just a matter of being organized. Chances are that there is always more than one way of doing things, and chances are that if one of those ways doesn’t work, one of the other ones will.
Committing yourself to finishing at least part if not all of your plan at once is also necessary. It will show that you not only have initiative to get things rolling, but that you are interested in the results obtained with making the move to get everything done.
If you make a commitment to finish before a specific time, make sure that you carry that out, and be sure to do everything in the way you said you would, within the time-frame you set for yourself.
Don’t try to tackle more things all at a time. All that does is delay your progress, distract you and make you lose your interest, motivation and energy.
Carrying out an effective plan requires being as organized as possible. You will only achieve this by sticking to the order of the plan and not deviating or trying to do more at a time.
Last but not the least, you should never abandon things mid-project. It will only annoy everyone around you including yourself. Unfinished plans are a waste of time, energy and, in some cases, even money.
So, don’t be afraid of organization. The older we get, the more necessary it becomes to have the skills to follow through with confidence and to be able to carry through plans in an organized and manageable way. It pays to be organized, after all.
Title: Tips on how to be1._____ in your life | ||
Tips | Details | 2. _____ |
3._____ down your plan | ◆List everything you need ◆List4._____ you will follow | To make your plan happen |
Prepare three5._____ ways to carry out your plan |
| To6.____ that you can have some other choices when one way doesn’t work |
7. _____ to finish at least part of your plan if not all | Do everything 8. _____ your own time-frame | To show yourself you are determined to get things started and caring about the results |
Do one thing at once | Stick to the order of your plan | To save your interest, motivation and energy |
Finish what you have started |
| To get your plan 9.____out thoroughly |
10. _____ | ||
You shouldn’t be afraid of organization because it’s really worthwhile. | ||
Taxes, Taxes and More Taxes
Americans often say that there are only two things a person can be sure of in life; death and taxes. Americans do not have a corner on the “death” market, but many people feel that the United States leads the world with the worst taxes.
Taxes consist of the money which people pay to support their government. There are generally three levels of government in the United States: federal (联邦), state, and city; therefore, there are three types of taxes.
Salaried people who earn more than a few thousand dollars must pay a certain percentage of their salaries to the federal government. The percentage varies form person to person. It depends on their salaries. The federal government has a graduated income tax, that is, the percentage of the tax (14 to 70 percent) increases as a person’s income increases. With the high cost of taxes people are not very happy on April 15, when the federal taxes are due.
The second tax is for the state government: New York, California, North Dakota, or any of the other forty-seven states. Some states have an income tax similar to that of the federal government. Of course, the percentage for the state tax is lower. Other states have a sales tax, which is a percentage charged to any item(项目) which you buy in that state. For example, a person might want to buy a packet of cigarettes for twenty-five cents. If there is a sales tax of eight percent in that state, then the cost of the cigarettes is twenty-seven cents. This figure includes the sales tax. Some states use income tax in addition to sales tax to raise their revenues (收入). The state tax laws are various and confusing.
The third tax is for the city. This tax comes in two forms: property tax (people who own a home have to pay taxes on it) and excise (国产) tax, which is charged on cars in a city. The cities use these funds for education, police and fire departments, public works and municipal (市政内) buildings.
Since Americans pay such high taxes, they often feel that they are working one day each week just to pay their taxes. People always complain about taxes. They often protest that the government uses their tax dollars in the wrong way. They say that it spends too much on useless and impractical programs. Although Americans have different views on many issues, they tend to agree on one subject: taxes are too high.
1.How do you understand the sentence “Americans do not have a corner on the ‘death’ market”?
A. It means that Americans, just like all other people, must die.
B. It means that Americans do not have a secret place to keep from death in their life.
C. It means that Americans are not good at doing business in the death market.
D. It means that there is no such place as a death market in the U. S.
2.Why should the American people usually pay three types of taxes?
A. There are three levels of government--federal, state and city-to support the United States.
B. There are three kinds of taxes to pay--graduated income tax, sales tax and property tax..
C. They earn different salaries: high, middle, and low.
D. Tax laws in different states are different.
3.What does the title “Taxes, Taxes, and More Taxes” imply?
A. Americans are not satisfied with the three types of taxes.
B. The three levels of government do not use the taxes in a right way.
C. Americans complain that taxes are too high.
D. Americans’ taxes are diverse and confusing.
Scientists have found what look like caves on Mars, and say they could be protecting life from the planet’s terrible environment.
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 lave 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 have 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.What can the “cave” be used for according to the scientists?
A. They can protect life from the planet’s terrible environment.
B. They can provide energy for people’s life.
C. They can be used to prevent space radiation
D. Both A and C.
3.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
4.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
5.Necessary conditions for life on Mars mentioned in the passage may include .
A. lave and energy
B. water and radiation from space
C. gases and lave
D. water and protection from radiation
