Space Center Houston
Space Center Houston is an official visitors’ center of NASA’s Johnson Space Center. Touch a real moon rock. See astronauts train on a behind-the-scenes tour of NASA. It’s an out-of-this –world experience for all ages. | |
Prices Adult: ages 12+, $46 Child: ages 3-11, $36 Beginning July 1, Space Center Houston attractions will remain the same, but our price will increase: Adult, $49; Child 3-11, $39 through February 28, 2015. You can get tickets online or at the main entrance. | |
Highlights The journey into space begins with the film On Human Destiny at the Destiny Theater. The NASA Tram Tour, a 90-minute behind-the-scenes tour, takes you to real working areas of Johnson Space Center. Experience the thrill of launching into space like a real astronaut in the Blast-Off Theater. Kids Space Place is perfect for children of all ages who have dreamed of being an astronaut. | Advice for Visitors Arrive early and allow 4 to 5 hours to enjoy all the attractions. Take the NASA Guided Tram Tour to see Rocket Park, the Historic Apollo Mission Control Center and astronauts train. Buildings visited on Tram Tour are real working areas of Johnson Space Center and subject to close without notice. Get 10% off your purchase in the Space Trader or Gift Station. |
On-site Services Parking: Paid parking available Dining: Zero-G Diner Gift Shops: Space Trader and Gift Station | Opening hours Open daily, 10am-5pm. Closed at Christmas. |
Group Requirements Groups of 15 or more: Call (281) 283-4755. | |
1.Which of the following is TRUE?
A. It will usually take 4 to 5 hours for visitors to enjoy all the attractions.
B. Visitors to Space Center Houston can buy tickets only by calling or online.
C. Space Center Houston is suitable for families to visit together at Christmas.
D. John and his wife will spend $92 if they visit Space Center Houston in January 2015.
2.How does a visitor begin his journey into space at Space Center Houston?
A. By seeing the film On Human Destiny.
B. By visiting the real working areas.
C. By visiting Kids Space Place.
D. By taking the NASA Tram Tour.
3.At Space Center Houston, visitors can ________.
A. park the car free of charge
B. stay there for at most 5 hours
C. visit the real working areas anytime
D. shop at a 10% discount in the Gift Station
Are you an optimist? Do you look at your glass and see it as half full? Do you believe that every cloud has a silver lining and that generally things turn out for the best? Do you believe that if something is meant to be, it will be? If you reply “yes” to all of these questions, then you are an optimist. You probably are enthusiastic, cheerful and outgoing. You may well be successful at work and in love.
But you may be misguided because things don’t turn out for the best. You may believe that when one door closes another one opens (for example, you may fail to obtain a new job, and another chance will come around soon). Wrong. When one door closes, another door slams in your face. That’s bitter reality.
Now a book has been published which confirms what we pessimists (悲观者) have suspected all along. It’s called The Positive Power of Defensive Pessimism. Its author argues that defensive pessimism can lead to positive results. Defensive pessimism is a strategy used to manage fear, anxiety and worry. Defensive pessimists prepare for things by setting low outcomes for themselves. They carefully consider everything that may go wrong and plan for ways to handle these problems. And this gives them a sense of control. Lawrence Sanno, a psychology professor, says, “What’s interesting about defensive pessimists is that they tend to be very successful people, so their low opinion of the situation’s outcomes is not realistic. They use it to motivate themselves to perform better. ”
So far, so good. This is not rocket science. Defensive pessimists prepare carefully and consider what might go wrong, whether at work, on a date or even in a sports game. It makes sense to have a back-up plan. There are many sayings in English urging caution. For example, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket,” and “Don’t count your chickens until they hatch.” To have a confident and optimistic approach to life’s problems is good. But listen to what Woody Allen, the American comedian says, “Confidence is what you have before you understand the problem.”
There are pros and cons of being an optimist and a pessimist. Don’t feel bad if you see the glass half empty. You are a realist. But lighten up and hook up with someone who sees the same glass half full.
1. The writer would probably describe himself as ________.
A. a realist B. a scientist
C. an optimist D. an artist
2.Defensive pessimists are likely to make use of ________ to help achieve success.
A. the final outcome B. their low opinion
C. people’s motivation D. their performance
3.The underlined sentence “This is not rocket science” in Paragraph 4 means “________”.
A. it is out of the question
B. it is quite simple to understand
C. it is far beyond reach
D. it is not a worthwhile thing to do
4. Which of the following English expressions would a defensive pessimist probably believe?
A. “Every cloud has a silver lining.”
B. “Whatever will be, will be.”
C. “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.”
D. “The glass is half full not half empty.”
Holding a cell phone against your ear or storing it in your pocket may be dangerous to your health. This explains a warning that cell phone makers include in the small print that is often ignored when a new phone is purchased. Apple, for example, doesn’t want iPhones to come closer to you than 1.5 centimeters.
If health issues arise from cell phone use, the possible effects are huge. According to Devra Davis, an expert who has worked for the University of Pittsburgh, brain cancer is a concern. Over all, there has not been an increase in its occurrence since cell phones arrived. But the average masks an increase in brain cancer in the 20-29 age group and a drop for the older population.
“Most cancers have many causes,” she says, but she points to laboratory research that suggests low-energy radiation could damage cells that could possibly lead to cancer.
Children are more vulnerable to radiation than adults, Ms. Davis and other scientists point out. Radiation that penetrates (穿透) only five centimeters into the brain of an adult will reach much deeper into the brains of children because their skulls (头骨) are thinner and their brains contain more absorptive fluid.
Henry Lai, a research professor in the bioengineering department at the University of Washington, began laboratory radiation studies in 1980 and found that rats exposed to radiation had damaged DNA in their brains.
Ms. Davis recommends using wired headsets or the phone’s speaker. Children should text rather than call, she said, and pregnant women should keep phones away from the belly.
1.According to Ms Davis, brain cancer increases ________.
A. in the teenagers B. among old people
C. in the twenties D. among pregnant women
2.What does the underlined word “vulnerable” in the 4th paragraph probably mean?
A. accessible B. changeable
C. passive D. sensitive
3. The author’s purpose of writing the text is most likely to ________.
A. entertain B. persuade
C. describe D. inform
4.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
A. Low-energy Radiation Leads to Cancer
B. Cell Phone Use Brings Health Problems
C. Radiation Damages DNA in People’s Brain
D. Researchers Launched Lab Studies on Cell Phones
When you’re a junior in high school, three little letters quickly become larger than life: SAT.
At the start of my junior year, I realized that the environment was packed with competition. Surprisingly, this pressure didn’t come from adults. It came from the other students. Everyone in my grade had college on the brain. To get into the college of our choice, we all believed, we had to outcompete and outscore everyone else with less sleep, because time for sleeping was time you didn’t spend studying for the SAT.
I let myself get swept up in the pressure. My new motto was, if I wasn’t in every single honor level class, I wasn’t doing enough. I was bad-tempered and I couldn’t focus. I stopped talking to my friends and my mom, and I couldn’t figure out who I was. I didn’t have the confidence to know that my own passions and unique skills were what would make me stand out to colleges.
That’s when I realized: I am not my SAT score. Trying to stick to what I thought colleges wanted masked who I really am. I decided to rely on my strengths and get away from the crazy pressure I was putting on myself.
Instead of forcing myself into higher levels of math, I took on an extra history class. I learned how to love what I was doing and not what I thought I was supposed to do. I learned to shine as an individual, not a faceless member of the crowd. And I found that not only was this better for my happiness, but it also made me more effective and efficient when I studied.
To me, individuality means having the confidence to decide who I am and who I want to be, and a number on a page is never going to change that. I am more sure of myself, and more ready to apply for college, than ever.
1.At the start of the junior year, the author decided to study for the SAT ________.
A. to overcome the pressure from other high school students
B. to test how good she was at studying compared to others
C. because it was exciting to compete with others to get into college
D. because she was eager to get an advantage over others in the competition
2.When did the author realize she shouldn’t just compete for scores?
A. When she got in every single honor level class.
B. When everybody stopped talking to her.
C. When she found she was no longer her usual self.
D. When she forced herself to take advanced maths.
3.What can you infer from Paragraph 5?
A. She tried to live as who she was, not just a student focusing on grades.
B. She learned to team up with others and so gained efficiency.
C. She managed to do well in both maths and history classes.
D. She wanted to be number one and no one could change her mind.
4.Which statement best expresses the main idea of the passage?
A. Pressure brings out the best in you.
B. You will stand out by being your best self.
C. Things will happen whether you like it or not.
D. Life is just a matter of decisive times.
假定你是李华，你的外教Mr. Pick回国前向你推荐了American School Life网站，希望你借此提高英语水平。请你用英语给他写一封电子邮件，告诉他你的收获，要点如下：
1. 表达思念；
2. 上网收获；
3. 表示感激。
注意：1. 词数100词左右；
2. 可适当发挥，以使行文连贯；
3. 开头和结尾已为你写好，不计入总词数。
Dear Mr. Pick,
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
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Yours,
Li Hua
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。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。
On December 10th last year, we paid a visit to a high-tech agricultural garden. It took us one and a half hour to get there. The naturally environment there was very pleased, and we could breathe fresh air. The intelligent glass greenhouse, where many kinds of fruits and vegetables were growing there, was really amazing. Because it was very cold outside, the greenhouse controlling by a computer could provide a proper temperature. That was also very interesting to see so many colorful fruits and vegetables in the greenhouse which we have never seen before. Luckily, we allowed to taste some of the fruits and vegetables. We really had a good time and learned a lot over the visit.
