The plan：turn Mars into a blue world with streams and green fields ,and then fill it with creatures（生物）from the earth.?

This idea may sound like something from a science fiction（科幻小说）,but it is actually being taken seriously by many researchers .This suggested future for the “red planet” will be the main topic for discussion at an international conference hosted by NASA（美国宇航局）this week. Leading researchers as well as science fiction writers will attend the event .It comes as NASA is preparing a multibillion-dollar Mars research programme.?

“Turning Mars into a little earth has long been a topic in science fiction,” said Dr Michael Meyer, NASA's senior scientist for astrobiology（太空生物学）.“Now ,with scientists exploring the reality ,we can ask what the real possibilities of changing Mars are.”?

Most scientists agree that Mars could be turned into a little earth ,although much time and money would be needed to achieve this goal.?

“We are destroying our own world at an unbelievable speed and now we are talking about ruining another planet,”said Paul Morin ,of the Institute of Astronomy ,Cambridge ,UK.?

Over the past months ,scientists have become increasingly confident they will find Martian life forms .Europe and America's robot explorers have found proof that water ,mixed with soil ,exists in large amounts on the planet.

1.Those who agree to turn Mars into a little earth_______.?

A.are short of confidence

B.will gain the support of NASA?

C.realize their dream needs lots of time and money

D.are asking for advice on how to carry it out?

2.The author took Paul Morin as an example to show he_______.?

A.is for the idea of exploring Mars

B.is active in saving the earth?

C.is against the idea of turning Mars into a little earth

D.cares about environmental protection　　　　　　　

3.Science fiction writers will attend the international conference to be held by NASA to_______.?

A.inspire their interests

B.set more details for them to write with?

C.join in the discussion

D.collect money for Mars research programme

4.Turning Mars into a little earth_______.?

A.is no longer a topic of science fiction stories

B.is now under way?

C.is a project whose possibility is being explored

D.is against human interests

LONDON — Life for Cathy Hagner and her three children is set to permanent(永久的) fast-forward.

Their full school day and her job as a lawyer's assistant are busy enough. But Hanger also has to take the two boys to soccer or hockey or basketball while dropping off her daughter at piano lessons or Girl Scout Club.

Often, the exhausted family doesn't get home until 7 pm. There is just time for a quick supper before homework. In today's world, middle-class American and British parents treat their children as if they are competitors racing for some finishing line.

Parents take their children from activity to activity in order to make their future bright. It seems that raising a genius has become a more important goal than raising a happy and well-balanced child.

“Doctors across the country are reporting a growing number of children suffering from stomachaches and headaches due to exhaustion and stress,” says child expert William Doherty of the University of Minnesota.

Teachers are dealing with exhausted kids in the classroom. It's a very serious problem. Many children attend after-school clubs by necessity. But competitive pressures also create an explosion of activities. They include sports, language, music and math classes for children as young as four.

“There is a new parenting trend(趋势) under way which says that you have to tap all your child’s potential(潜能) at a young age; otherwise you will let him down,” says Terry Apter, a Cambridge-based child and adolescent psychiatrist(青少年精神病专家).

“It isn't entirely new: there have always been pushy parents. But what was previously(以前) seen as strange behaviour is now well accepted.”

1. From the second paragraph of this passage we can find that _______.

A. Hagner wastes much time helping her children's lessons

B. Hagner doesn't spend much time on her full-time job

C. Hagner is interested in sports and music

D. Hagner busies herself by following a trend

2. British parents, as the writer described in this passage, _______.

A. treat their children as sports players

B. pay no attention to their children's lessons

C. bring up their children in a simple way

D. give their children little time to develop freely

3. The writer's opinion about after-school clubs is that ________.

A. activities in the country are too competitive

B. children should attend four clubs at a time

C. some clubs result in competitive pressures

D. clubs should have more subjects for school children

4. The last paragraph tells us that in Britain _______.

A. parents used to take their children to every club

B. parents used to be wise on how to raise children

C. parents have all benefited from children’s clubs

D. parents have come to know the standard of education

According to the US government, wind farms off the Pacific coast could produce 900 gig watts of electricity every year. Unfortunately, the water there is far too deep for even the tallest windmills(see picture)to touch bottom. An experiment under way off the coast of Norway, however, could help put them anywhere.
The project, called Hywind, is the world’s first large-scale deepwater wind turbine(涡轮发电机).Although it uses a fairly standard 152-ton,2.3-megawatt turbine, Hywind represents totally new technology. The turbine will be fixed 213 feet above the water on a floating spar(see picture),a technology Hywind’s creator, the Norwegian company StatoilHydro, has developed recently. The steel spar, which is filled with stones and goes 328 feet below the sea surface, will be tied to the ocean floor by three cable(缆索)；these will keep the spar stable and prevent the turbine from moving up and down in the waves. Hywind’s stability(稳定性)in the cold and rough sea would prove that even the deepest corners of the ocean are suitable for wind power. If all goes according to plan, the turbine will start producing electricity six miles off the coast of southwestern Norway as early as September.
To produce electricity on a large scale, a commercial wind farm will have to use bigger turbines than Hywind does, but it’s difficult enough to balance such a large turbine so high on a floating spar in the middle of the ocean. To make that turbine heavier, the whole spar’s to design a new kind of wind turbine, one whose gearbox(变速箱) sits at sea level rather than behind the blades (see picture )
Hywind is a test run, but the benefits for perfecting floating wind-farm technology could be extremely large. Out at sea, the wind is often stronger and steadier than close to shore, where all existing offshore windmills are planted. Deep-sea farms are invisible from land, which helps overcome the windmill-as-eyesore objection. If the technology catches on, it will open up vast areas of the planet’s surface to one of the best low-carbon power sources available.
【小题1】
The Hywind project uses totally new technology to ensure the stability of _______.

A．the cables which tie the spar to the ocean floor

B．the spar which is floating in deep-sea water

C．the blades driven by strong and steady sea wind

D．the stones filled in the spar below the sea surface

【小题2】
To balance a bigger turbine high on a flatting spar, a new type of turbine is to be designed with its gearbox sitting ____________.

A．on the sea floor	B．on the spar top
C．at sea level	D．behind the blades

【小题3】
Wide applications of deepwater wind power technology can ____________.

A．solve the technical problems of deepwater windmills

B．make financial profits by producing more turbines

C．settle the arguments about environmental problems

D．explore low-carbon power resources available at sea

In 1883, an imaginative engineer named John Roebling decided to build a spectacular bridge connecting New York with Long Island. However, bridge building experts throughout the world thought that this was a pipe dream. It was not practical. It had never been done before.

But Roebling refused to listen to them. He thought about the bridge day and night and he knew deep in his heart that it could be done. After much discussion and persuasion he convinced his son Washington, who was a promising engineer himself, that the bridge in fact could be built.

Working together for the first time, the father and son developed concepts of how it could be accomplished. With great excitement, they hired their crew and began to build their dream bridge.

The project started well, but several months after it began, a tragic accident on the site took the life of John Roebling. Washington was so seriously injured that he was never able to walk, talk or even move again.

"We told them so", "Crazy men and their crazy dreams", "It's foolish to chase wild visions", the critics said and most thought the project should be scrapped since the Roeblings were the only ones who knew how the bridge could be built. In spite of his handicap Washington still had a burning desire to complete the bridge and his mind was still as sharp as ever.

Washington's wife tried to inspire and pass on her husband's enthusiasm to some of his friends, but they were too daunted by the task. As he lay in his hospital room, an idea suddenly hit him. All he could do was move one finger and he decided to make the best use of it. By moving this finger and tapping it on his wife's arm, he slowly developed a code to communicate with her. Then he used this method to tell his wife what the engineers should do. It seemed crazy but the project was under way again. For 13 years Washington tapped out his instructions with his finger on his wife's arm, until the bridge was finally completed.

Today the spectacular Brooklyn Bridge stands in all its glory as a tribute to the triumph of one man's spirit and his determination not to be defeated by circumstances.

1._ What did most people think about Roebling's idea to build the bridge?

A. It would never become a reality.          B. Washington was not experienced enough.

C. It would take a lot of time.              D. Finding the money would be impossible. 

2._The underlined word `daunted' (para. 6) is closest in meaning to '______'.

  A. unpleasant    B. scared    C. amazed    D. determined

3._ Which of the following shows the correct order of the events that happened in the story?

   a. Roebling convinced his son.

   b. Washington found a new way to communicate.

   c. They hired the crew.

d. The bridge was completed.

   e. Roebling wanted to build a bridge.

   f. There was a tragic accident.

A. e, a, c, f, d, b     B. e, a, f, b, c, d    C. e, f, a, b, c, d    D. e, a, c, f, b, d　　

4._ What can we learn about Washington's wife?

A. She knew sign language very well.

B. She was devoted to her husband.

C. She developed a code to communicate with her husband.

D. She helped her husband design the plan.

5._ What does the story tell us?

  A. Success will come with the passing of time.

  B. Struggles are exactly what we need in our lives.

  C. Even the most distant dream can be realised with a never-say-die attitude.

  D. The people who make a difference in our life should be remembered forever.

 

 

If a peace process got under way, Saudi Arabia would _______ directly in multilateral talks about regional problems.

A. participate         B. perform                   C. possess                     D. predict