NASA’s twin Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, have been exploring the Red Planet since 2004. But a little more than a year ago, NASA lost contact with Spirit. The space agency has tried several ways to make contact with the rover, but Spirit has not sent back any signals.
Spirit landed on Mars on January 4, 2004. Three weeks later, Opportunity arrived. Soon after, the rovers went to the opposite side of Mars. Spirit’s original mission was only designed to last for three months, but Spirit has worked for more than five years doing additional missions. Both rovers have made important discoveries about ancient Mars. They have taken thousands of images and found evidence in the rocks of a water, warmer past in Mars’ history.
Spirit is solar-powered. It got stuck in a sand trap in April 2009, trapped deep into the soil and with its wheels turning around and around but not able to move forwards or backwards. Spirit had to agree that there is nothing that can be done to change the situation—it’s never going to move again. However, even if it is a not moving station, it can still study the planet’s atmosphere and deep interior.
NASA has been concentrating on trying to position its solar panels to get as much energy from the sun as possible, or to get the rover leaning in a manner that will allow the most amount of sunlight falling on its solar panels, in order to keep it alive during the coming winter months. Engineers have planned to rock the vehicle back and forth to acquire a more favorable position. However, no matter how many efforts have been made, Spirit still could not get out of the soft soil and could not lean itself toward the sun as the Martian winter approached. Without enough energy reaching its solar panels and with so little energy in its batteries, it went into hibernation, just like a polar bear, and has not communicated with Earth since March 22, 2010.
Whatever the future holds for Spirit, its mission has been an outstanding success. When it landed on the Red Planet in January 2004, no one was really sure how long it would continue working in the cold and dusty environment. As a matter of fact, three months was its original goal.
After so many fruitless efforts, NASA scientists are losing hope of ever reconnecting with Spirit, but they will give it one more try. Ground controllers are contacting Spirit over a range of frequencies and at different times during the day in case its internal clock stopped working and it lost track of time. They also are commanding the rover to turn on its backup radio transmitter in case the main one is dead.
If this final effort to connect isn’t successful, NASA will shift the focus to its twin robot, Opportunity, which is in a different part of Mars. Opportunity is still on the move and continues to travel freely to this day. It has traveled 16.6 miles so far, and is currently rolling towards another crater it has yet to explore.
NASA has spent more than $900 million on the project but shows no sign of giving up on these determined and hard-working robots. The rovers are, though, experiencing gradual wear and tear, the expected damage to something caused by using it repeatedly over a period of time. Even before Spirit got trapped, one of its wheels had failed. And NASA says it’s just a matter of time before both robots break down completely.
小題1:According to the passage, what can we know about Spirit?
A．It had explored Mars several times.
B．Its original mission was to work for five years.
C．It landed on Mars three weeks later than Opportunity.
D． It discovered that Mars was once a warm and wetter place.
小題2:According to the passage, which of the following is NOT what NASA did?
A．Try to lean Spirit to make it get as much sunlight as possible.
B．Rock Spirit back and forth to make it acquire a more favorable position.
C．Make efforts to help Spirit get out of the soft soil where it is stuck.
D．Contact and order Spirit to turn on its backup radio transmitter.
小題3:The reason why Spirit failed to communicate with the Earth is that ________.
A．it didn’t have enough energyB．it had finished its task
C．something was wrong with its wheelsD．it met an unidentified creature
小題4:By saying “NASA will shift the focus” in Paragraph 7, the author means that ______.
A．NASA will move the center of Spirit out of the sand
B．NASA will depend on Opportunity to do the exploration
C．NASA will do nothing but wait for some opportunity
D．NASA will make opportunity help Spirit
小題5:The last paragraph mainly informs us that _______.
A．NASA has planned to spend more money on Spirit
B．Spirit will be brought back to Earth
C．Spirit will stop operating totally in the future
D．Spirit will cause damage to Mars
小題6: What’s the text mainly about?
A．NASA makes the last effort to contact Spirit.
B．Spirit has made many important discoveries on Mars.
C．How Spirit got stuck and couldn’t move on Mars.
D．Why NASA tried many ways to contact Spirit.
 
小題1:D
小題1:B
小題1:A
小題1:B
小題1:C
小題1:A 
略
練習(xí)冊系列答案
相關(guān)習(xí)題

科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：完形填空

完型填空（共20小題；每小題1。5分，滿分30分）
Every human being,  36 what he is doing, gives off body heat. The usual problem is  37 dispose of it. But the designers of the Johnstown campus of the University of Pittsburgh set themselves the  38 problem — how to collect body heat. They have designed a collection system which utilizes  39 body heat, but the heat given off by such objects  40 light bulbs and refrigerators as well. The system works so well  41 no conventional fuel is needed  42 the campus’ six buildings comfortable.
Some parts of most modern buildings — theatres and offices  43 classrooms — are more than amply heated by people and lights and sometimes must be air-conditioned  44 in winter. The technique of  45 heat and redistributing it is  46 “heat recover”. A few modern buildings recover  47 , but the university’s system is the first to recover heat  48 some buildings and re-use it in  49 . Along the way, Pitt has learned a great deal about some of its heat producers. The  50 a student studies, the more heat his body  51 . Male students emit more heat than 52 students, and the larger a student, the more heat he  53 . It is tempting to  54 that the hottest prospect for the Johnstown campus would be a  55 , over-weight male genius.
小題1:
A．thoughB．no matterC．howeverD．in spite of
小題2:
A．how toB．howC．whatD．what to
小題3:
A．similarB．wrongC．opposingD．opposit
小題4:
A．bothB．not onlyC．a(chǎn)s well asD．neither
小題5:
A．for exampleB．likeC．ofD．a(chǎn)s
小題6:
A．whichB．thenC．thatD．therefore
小題7:
A．makeB．to be madeC．to makeD．making
小題8:
A．includingB．a(chǎn)s well asC．withD．a(chǎn)s well
小題9:
A．evenB．soC．everD．much
小題10:
A．savingB．being savedC．disposingD．being disposed
小題11:
A．talkedB．thoughtC．suggestedD．called
小題12:
A．lossB．coldC．temperatureD．heat
小題13:
A．toB．fromC．withD．for
小題14:
A．the otherB．otherC．othersD．the others
小題15:
A．hardB．hardestC．harderD．more hard
小題16:
A．takes inB．gives offC．gives inD．takes out
小題17:
A．otherB．femaleC．girlD．boy
小題18:
A．producesB．manufacturesC．designsD．a(chǎn)ssembles
小題19:
A．startB．concludeC．endD．begin
小題20:A. easy-going   . fun-making  C.hard-working  D. good-for-nothing

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解


PALO ALTO, California----"Switching off the television may help prevent children from getting fatter---- even if they do not change their diet or increase the amount they exercise," US researchers said last week.
　　A study of 192 third and fourth graders, generally aged eight and nine, found that children who cut the number of hours spent watching television gained nearly two pounds(0.9kg) less over a one-year period than those who did not change their television diet.
　　"The findings are important because they show that weight loss can only be the result of a reduction in television viewing and not any other activity," said Thomas Robinson, a pediatrician(兒科專家) at Stanford University.
　　"American children spend an average of more than four hours per day watching television and videos or playing video games, and rates of childhood being very fat have doubled over the past 20 years," Robinson said.
　　In the study, presented this week to the Pediatric Academic Societies‘ annual meeting in San Francisco, the researchers persuaded about 100 of the students to reduce their television viewing by one-quarter to one-third.
　　Children watching fewer hours of television showed a significantly smaller increase in waist size and had less body fat than other students who continued their normal television viewing, even though neither group ate a special diet or took part in any extra exercise.
　　"One explanation for the weight loss could be the children unstuck to the television may simply have been moving around more and burning off calories," Robinson said.
　　"Another reason might be due to eating fewer meals in front of the television. Some studies have suggested that eating in front of the TV encourages people to eat more," Robinson said.
小題1:The author tries to tell us in the first two paragraphs that ________.
A．children will get fatter if they eat too much
B．children will get thinner if they eat less
C．children will get fatter if they spend less time watching TV
D．children will get fatter if they spend more time watching TV
小題2:According to the passage, the time American children usually spend on watching TV_____.
A．is more than four hours a day
B．is less than four hours a day
C．doubled in the last twenty years
D．is more than on any other activities
小題3:The time children spend on TV viewing every day is suggested to be about
A．six hoursB．eight hoursC．three hoursD．one hour
小題4:Why can watching TV increase kids’ weight according to the passage?
　　A. They usually eat more while watching TV.
　　B. They burn off fewer calories.
C. They change their diet while watching TV.
D. Both A and B.

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Success is everybody’s dream. But what is the key to success? How can you be successful? I think we should measure success based on how much we give rather than how much we receive. Fortunately, it also works nicely the other way around since those who give more almost always will also receive more. So how do you pave your way to success? How do you become more successful? The answer is amazingly simple: the key to success is making yourself as useful as possible to others. Here are some ideas on how to do it.
1. Be observant of needs
To be useful to others, you should always be aware of even the slightest clues of needs. The more sensitive you are to the needs of others, the more appreciative people will eventually become. The best plan is being able to anticipate a need before the other people are even aware of it.
2. Find solutions to the needs
Now that you are aware of needs, the next step is finding solutions to them. The solutions you offer should be as useful as possible. To be able to do so, there is no other way but to continuously build your own value. It is from the value you have that you could give value to others.
3. Be proactive to help
Do not wait for the other person to ask for your help. Be proactive. Give your help even before they ask.
4. _________________
What matters is not only the solution you offer, but also the way you deliver it. Being sincere means being glad to help others without expecting anything in return. Make it your joy to give something to others. People can somehow distinguish whether or not you are sincere.
5. Go the extra mile
Doing the above four steps is good, but add this one if you can: give more than expected. First, give what is expected, and then add a little more. If you do the above four steps people will be appreciative, but if you add this one step they will be impressed.
小題1: What is the measure of success according to the author?
A．Success means giving more as well as asking for more.
B．Success is based on how much money you make.
C．The more you receive from others, the more successful you will be.
D．The more you give, the more successful you will be.
小題2:The underlined word anticipate in para 2 probably means_______
A．offerB．expectC．preventD．change
小題3:What’s the best title for the fifth paragraph?
A．Solutions Are Important.B．Give More Help to Others
C．Expecting More D．Be Sincere
小題4:The author would NOT agree that______
A．people should continuously build up their own value.
B．the best time to help others is when they ask for help.
C．people should help others without expecting anything in return.
D．it is good to give others more help than what is expected.
小題5:What does the passage mainly talk about?
A．How to measure success accurately.
B．How to make your dreams come true.
C．Giving is more important than receiving.
D．How a person can be most useful to others.

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Competition between international universities is heating up, as China grows as one of the largest exporters of students aiming to study abroad. “Lots of universities are becoming more and more aggressive to attract Chinese students. Every day I receive contacts from universities in the US expressing the desire to come to China to recruit students,” said Frank Joseph, a commercial officer from embassy of the United States.
One key reason why more Chinese students are able to study abroad is the economy: With China’s boom within the past decade, more families have the financial wherewithal (資金) to send their children to international universities. There will be a total of 200,000 family-funded Chinese students studying overseas in 2011, up 20 percent from last year, said Wu Zaofeng, deputy secretary general of China Education Association for International Exchange.
International institutions, Joseph said, are also facing increasingly tough financial situation with a shortage of domestic students and a drop in government subsidies (補貼). Students, especially in the US are paying high tuition fees and living expenses. Chinese students with money to spend, according to experts, can fill up the gap. Students on average spend 150,000 yuan to 200,000 yuan every year studying in US, according to statistics from the US Institute of International Education. During 2009-2010, there were approximately 81,000 Chinese students studying in the US, up 19.8 percent from 2008.
Representatives from approximately 60 universities from the United States are planning to arrive in Beijing this weekend to attract more Chinese students at this year’s fair. Besides the US, many other countries are also vying (競爭) to enroll Chinese students.
Post-study work visa put out by British government allows all international students completing a UK degree qualification to apply for a visa to stay on and look for work in UK for up to 2 years. Being the third most popular destination for international students next to the US and the UK, France has set up two types of scholarships and has handed out an increase of 26 percent in scholarship funds to Chinese students in recent years.
小題1:The reason for heating up competition between international universities is __________.
A．that China has become one of the largest exporters of the students aiming to study abroad
B．China’s boom, the students’ desire and foreign universities’ commercial motive
C．that the students in China are becoming richer and richer
D．that the students in foreign countries do not want to go to universities
小題2: Why are more Chinese students able to study abroad?
A．Because their families have enough money to send them to international universities.
B．Because they can’t go to the best universities at home.
C．Because they want to win the scholarship of foreign universities
D．Because the Chinese students enjoy following others and they want to be independent.
小題3:Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A．In 2011 there will be 200,000 Chinese students studying in the US.
B．Chinese students are able to study abroad for their relatives overseas.
C．In 2011 there will be 200,000 state-funded Chinese students studying overseas.
D．There are fewer family-funded Chinese students studying abroad in 2010 than in 2011.
小題4: From the passage we can learn that __________.
A．the number of foreign students is becoming smaller and smaller
B．the international universities are short of money
C．there were approximately 81,000 foreign students studying in the US during 2009-2010
D．the Chinese students spend more money than the American students

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：完形填空

完形填空（共20小題，每小題1分，滿分20分）
閱讀下面短文，掌握其大意，然后從36 - 55各題所給的四個選項（Ａ、Ｂ、Ｃ和Ｄ）中，選出最佳選項，并填寫到答題紙表格。
One Saturday afternoon, my daughter Alice asked me, “Are all people the same even if they are different in color?”
I thought for a minute, and then I said, “I’ll explain,   41  you can just wait until we make a quick   42  at the grocery store. I have something   43  to show you. ”
At the grocery store, we    44   some apples --- red, green and yellow ones. Back home, I told Alice, “It’s time to   45  your question.” I put one apple of each   46   on the table. Then I looked at Alice, who had a   47  look on her face.  
“People are like apples. They come in all   48 colors, shapes and sizes. On the    49 , some of the apples may not  50  look as the others. ” As I was talking, Alice was    51  each one carefully.  
Then, I took each of the apples and peeled（削皮）them,  52  them back on the table, but   53  a different place.  
“Okay, Alice, tell me which is which.”
She said, “I   54  tell. They all look the same now. ” “Take a bite of   55 . See if that helps you   56  which one is which. ”
She took   57 , and then a huge smile came across her face. “People are   58  like apples! They are all different, but once you _ 59  the outside, they’re pretty much the same on the inside. ”
She totally   60  it. I didn’t need to say or do anything else.  
小題1:
A．a(chǎn)lthoughB．soC．becauseD．if
小題2:
A．stopB．startC．turnD．stay
小題3:
A．expressiveB．encouragingC．informativeD．interesting
小題4:
A．boughtB．countedC．sawD．collected
小題5:
A．checkB．mentionC．a(chǎn)nswerD．improve
小題6:
A．sizeB．typeC．shapeD．class
小題7:
A．worriedB．satisfiedC．proudD．curious
小題8:
A．ordinaryB．normalC．differentD．regular
小題9:
A．outsideB．wholeC．tableD．inside
小題10:
A．stillB．evenC．onlyD．ever
小題11:
A．examiningB．measuringC．drawingD．packing
小題12:
A．keepingB．placingC．pullingD．giving
小題13:
A．onB．towardC．forD．in
小題14:
A．mustn’tB．can’tC．shouldn’tD．needn’t
小題15:
A．each oneB．each otherC．the otherD．one another
小題16:
A．a(chǎn)dmitB．considerC．decideD．believe
小題17:
A．big bitesB．deep breathsC．a(chǎn) firm holdD．close look
小題18:
A．justB．a(chǎn)lwaysC．merelyD．seldom
小題19:
A．put awayB．get downC．hand outD．take off
小題20:
A．madeB．tookC．gotD．did

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Today, in many high schools, teaching is now a technical miracle of computer labs, digital cameras, DVD players and laptops. Teachers can e-mail parents, post messages for students on online bulletin(公告，告示) boards, and take attendance with a quick movement of a mouse.
Even though we are now living in the digital age, the basic and most important element of education has not changed. Most students still need that one-on-one, teacher-student relationship to learn and to succeed. Teenagers need instruction in English, math or history, but they also want personal advice and encouragement. Kids talk with me about their families, their weekend plans, their favorite TV shows and their relationship problems. In my English and journalism classes, we talk about Shakespeare and persuasive(富有哲理的) essays, but we also discuss college basketball, the war in Iraq and career choices. Students show me pictures of their rebuilt cars, their family vacations, and their newborn baby brothers. This personal connection is the necessary link between teachers and students that no amount of technology can improve upon or replace.
A few years ago I had a student in sophomore English who was struggling with my class and with school in general. Although he was a humorous young man who liked to joke around, I knew his family life was far from ideal. Whenever I approached him about missing homework or low test grades, he always had the same reply, “It doesn’t matter because I’m quitting school anyway.” Even though he always said this in a half-teasing way, I knew he needed to hear my different opinion and my “value of a high school education” lecture. He needed to hear this speech from me. After he left my class, he struggled through the next two years of school. But, he did finally graduate because we kept telling him to hang in there. We’d cared about him finishing school.
Recently, I saw this former student working at a local Italian restaurant. I told him again how proud I was of him. He said that he was hoping to go back to school to become a certified electrician. I encouraged him to get that training.
Students rely on compassionate teachers to guide, to tutor, to listen, to laugh and to cry with them. Teachers provide the most important link in the educational process—the human one.
小題1:The first paragraph mainly talks about _____________.
A．the variety of modern teaching methods.
B．the wide use of modern technology in education
C．the importance of teacher-parent relationship.
D．the importance of using modern technology.
小題2:The underlined word “ compassionate” in Para 5 means ____________.
A．a(chǎn)mbitiousB．knowledgeableC．sympatheticD．generous
小題3: According to the text, the most important element in education is _________.
A．teachers’ good instructionB．a(chǎn)dvanced technology
C．teachers’ encouragementD．personal connection
小題4:The author states his view of education by __________.
A．exampleB．descriptionC．figureD．comparison

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

You are watching a film in which two men are having a fight．They hit one another hard．At the start they only fight with their fists．But soon they begin hitting one another over the heads with chairs．And so it goes on until one of the men crashes through a window and falls thirty feet to the ground below．He is dead! Of course he isn’t really dead．With any luck he isn’t even hurt．Why? Because the men who fall out of high windows or jump from fast moving trains, who crash cars of even catching fire, are professionals．They do this for a living．These men are called stuntmen．That is to say, they perform tricks．There are two sides to their work．They actually do most of the things you see on the screen．For example, they fall from a high building．However, they do not fall on to hard ground but on to empty cardboard boxes covered with a mattress．Again, when they hit one another with chairs, the chairs are made of soft wood and when they crash through windows, the glass is made of sugar! But although their work depends on trick of this sort, it also requires a high degree of skill and training．Often a stuntman’s success depends on careful timing．For example, when he is “blown up” in a battle scene, he has to jump out of the way of the explosion just at the right moment.
Naturally stuntmen are well paid for their work, but they lead dangerous lives．They often get seriously injured, and sometimes killed．A Norwegian stuntman, for example, skied over the edge of a cliff a thousand feet high．His parachute failed to open, and he was killed．In spite of all the risks, this is no longer a profession for men only．Men no longer dress up as women when actresses have to perform some dangerous action．For nowadays there are stuntwomen too.

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Today, innovations(創(chuàng)新) to make our lives more eco-friendly can be found everywhere. There are energy-efficient automobiles, eco-friendly light bulbs, and clothes made by fashion designers using sustainable(可持續(xù)的) environmental practices. Industries around the world have also begun to take a serious look at how their operations affect the local and global environment.
The university of Colorado has been named one of the top green colleges and universities in the United States. This university was one of the first to start a student-led recycling program in the 1970s and today supplies students with reusable shopping bags to use both on and off campus. The entire University of Colorado also uses low flow water fixtures(設(shè)備) and has reduced water usage by 40 percent since 2002.
When it comes to going green, Warren Wilson College has been recognized in many places. The Sierra Club and The Princeton Review have named the college as one of America’s greenest colleges and universities, while the school has also received the Outstanding College Recycling Award from the Carolina Recycling Association, as well as awards from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education(AASHE). For a small college, Warren Wilson has made enormous efforts to be an eco-friendly campus since its beginning, and today owns a campus farm, a seeding program, and an extensive recycling program. Warren Wilson was also the first College to have an LEED platinum certified(白金認(rèn)證的) residence hall, and its building services department is also 100 percent GreenSeal certified. According to College Stats, Warren Wilson College is one of the first institutions in the United States to be almost completely self-sufficient(自給自足的) while also engaging students to incorporate sustainability into all academic programs.
Going green efforts at Oberlin College have not gone unnoticed. Oberlin College spends 22 percent of its food budget on buying food from local farmers, with most of the food raised or harvested with organic and sustainable practices. Oberlin has also stopped selling bottled water on campus and offers discounts to students who use their own storage containers when purchasing beverages and food items. Among Oberlin’s other eco-friendly accomplishments is a green graduation ceremony, which includes programs printed on 100 percent recycled paper.
小題1:The author writes the first paragraph mainly to tell us that ____.
A．we can find new ways to be eco-friendly
B．everyone is aware of being eco-friendly
C．industries are reducing their influence on the environment
D．American colleges and universities care much about environmental issues
小題2:What do we know about the University of Colorado?
A．Its recycling program is followed by other universities.
B．It produces reusable shopping bags by itself.
C．It uses special systems to save water.
D．It is the most eco-friendly university.
小題3:Which of the following about Warren Wilson College is TRUE?
A．The Princeton Review praised it for its teaching methods.
B．Its residence hall’s building material is platinum.
C．It owns a campus garden and a seeding program.
D．It sustains itself almost without help from others.
小題4:Students in Oberlin College can _____.
A．grow their own food on campus
B．pay less with their own containers
C．help the college make its food budget
D．recycle paper at their graduation ceremony
小題5:How is the text organized?
A．Main idea – Comparison.
B．Opinion – Discussion – Description
C．Introduction – Supporting examples.
D．Introduction – Explanation – Conclusion.

查看答案和解析>>

同步練習(xí)冊答案