Move Earth — it’s no science fiction

LONDON — Scientists have found an unusual way to prevent our planet from overheating: move it to a cooler spot. All you have to do is send a few comets（彗星）in the direction of Earth, and its orbit will be changed. Our world will then be sent spinning into a safer, colder part of the solar system.

This idea for improving our climate comes from a group of US National Aeronautics and Space Administration（NASA） engineers and American astronomers. They say their plan could add another six billion years to the useful lifetime of our planet—effectively doubling its working life.

The plan put forward by Dr Laughlin, and his colleagues Don Korycansky and Fred Adams ,needs carefully directing a comet or asteroid so that it passes close by our planet and sends some of its gravitational energy to Earth.

“Earth’s orbital speed would increase as a result and we would move to a higher orbit away from the Sun,” Laughlin said.

Engineers would then direct their comet so that it passed close to Jupiter or Saturn. The comet would pick up energy from one of these giant planets. Later its orbit would bring it back to Earth, and the process would be repeated. In the short term, the plan provides an ideal way to global warming, although the team was actually concerned with a much greater danger. The sun is certain to heat up in about a billion years and so “seriously compromise” our biosphere（生物圈）— by cooking us.

That’s why the group decided to try to save Earth.

The plan has one or two worrying aspects, however. For a start, space engineers would have to be very careful about how they directed their asteroid or comet towards Earth. The smallest miscalculation（误算）in orbit could fire it straight at Earth—with deadly consequences.

There is also the question of the Moon. As the current issue of Scientific American magazine points out, if Earth was pushed out of its current position it is “most likely the Moon would be stripped away from Earth,” it states. This would greatly change our planet’s climate.

What makes the scientists plan to move Earth?

A. A few comets are moving to the direction of Earth.

B. Earth’s working life is coming to an end soon.

C. Earth will become too hot for mankind to keep alive.

D. The moon is moving farther and farther away from Earth.

If the plan is successful, Earth will have a working life of ______years.

A.12 billion                  B.6 billion                    C.18 billion                  D.24 billion

What serious problems might the plan cause according to the passage?

A. The comet might hit Earth and man might lose the moon.

B. Earth might be moved too far away and man might be frozen to death.

C. The comet might hit Jupiter or Saturn and never return to Earth.

D. Earth’s working life might be greatly shortened.

What does the underlined word “compromise” mean?

A. provide                    B. benefit                   C. share                     D. endanger

Which of the following best shows how the plan would work?

Here’ s an unusual story: a diamond ring

 was recently found in an egg. The    

 

 

 

 

 

magician, Liu Qian, discovered it, in front         

of an audience of millions at CCTV’ s Spring

Festival Gala. Liu’ s magic tricks have made the centuries-old art of magic fashionable once again, and made him the hottest magician in China.

As a seasoned young magician from Taiwan, Liu is popular worldwide for his magic shows. Countries he has performed in include the U

nited States, Japan, South Korea and the UK.

 Witnessing something impossible happen right before your eyes is the root of people’ s love for magic.

 Liu is known for his interaction(互动)with his audiences. He has a unique understanding of showmanship(演出技巧).

“It’ s actually thinking rather than one’ s manipulation（操作）skills; that is more important to achieving a successful magic show. We think carefully about how to design the shows creatively, to make them appear more interesting.  ”Liu said.

    Liu Qian’ s success dated back to his childhood. Born in 1976 in Taiwan, he found himself attracted to a magic toy in a shop when he was seven years old. At the age of 12, he won Taiwan’ s Youth Magic Contest, which was judged by the great American magician, David Copperfield.

Yet, Liu never planned on becoming a professional magician. He studied Japanese literature at university and only hoped to be an amateur  (业余的) magician in his spare time. However, his failure to find a proper job after graduation pushed him towards magic as a career.

    To refine his performing skills, he has performed on streets, roads and fields for passers-by, policemen and farmers.

     “Street shows are the biggest challenge for us magicians. We have to deal with unexpected situations and tough crowds, ” Liu said.

1.What does the underlined word  “seasoned ” in Paragraph 2 mean?

A. 季节性的        B. 刚出道的         C. 老练的         D. 职业的

 

2.The story is about_____.

A. how Liu Qian became China’ s hottest magician

B. why people love magic

C. what magic tricks are

D. how fashionable the magic is

3.People love to watch magic because_____.

A. they can’ t figure out the secret of magic

B. it arouses their curiosity

C. they love watching magicians make the impossible happen

D. it is a centuries-old art

4.Which of the following is the key reason that Liu Qian decided to make magic his career?

A. He was interested in magic when he was little.

B. He had won Taiwan’ s Youth Magic Contest.

C. He became an amateur magician in his spare time.

D. He couldn’ t find an acceptable job after graduation

5. From the story we know that______.

A. Liu Qian competed in many magic competitions

B. Liu Qian often invites audiences to be in his magic show

C. Liu Qian performs on streets in order to increase his fame

D. Liu Qian does street show to make money

 

Over a hundred years ago people in London were surprised to see a very unusual boat come sailing up the Thames River.The boat was eighty feet long flat-bottomed,with big wooden eyes on both sides in the front and was colorfully painted at the back.

People came to know that it was a sailing boat from Fuzhou in distant China.The boat had sailed round the Cape of Good Hope(好望角) up the western coast of Africa,and finally to England.It had covered fifteen thousand miles—more than half of the distance round the world.

Although it was unexpected,the Chinese were warmly welcomed.The boat carried goods such as silk and tea as well as a number of gifts from the Emperor of China for the Queen of England.

People had always mistakenly thought of the Chinese as a people not used to sea.However,from centuries of trading and sailing in dangerous seas,the Chinese had learned how to build good boats and sailed them well.The coming of this sailing boat to London proved once again that the Chinese could sail to distant countries in the world.

The boat was considered unusual because _________.

A.it was a small wooden boat                                  

B.it carried Chinese silk and tea

C.it had traveled fifteen thousand miles             

D.it looked strange in several ways

According to this article,which of the following is TRUE?

A.The distance round the earth measures less than thirty thousand miles.

B.The Chinese Emperor gave silk and tea to the English Queen as gifts.

C.The Chinese boat came to London by accident.

D.The Chinese people were not good at sailing in dangerous seas.

The boat reached London by sailing _________.

A.round the southern end of Africa                   

B.up the west coast of England

C.through the Arctic Ocean                              

D.round Asia and Europe

.The writer wants to prove that a long time ago the Chinese _________.

A.carried silk,tea and other goods to England

B.could reach many parts of the world by sea

C.could sail along the Thames River

D.surprised Londoners with an unusual boat

In the United States there was an unusual story telling of the daughter of a mechanic（技工）．One day while walking along the bank of a lake, the girl   16   to see 20 eggs laid by a wild goose．After some time the girl   17   the mother would not return to her eggs and she   18   to take them home．There she carefully   19   the eggs in the heat of a lamp．Several days   20   the eggs broke and the baby geese came into the   21   ．

       Geese are known to take the first living thing they see as their mother．  22   , to these young geese, the girl was their mother．

       As they   23  , the girl was able to   24   her birds to run across the grass, but she could not teach them to   25   ．The girl became increasingly worried about this, both when   26   and in her dreams．Later, she had an   27   : She would pilot a plane to guide them in   28   ．She asked her father for a plane and he assembled （组装） a small aircraft for her．

       Caring about   29   safety, the father decided to pilot the plane himself．However, the birds did not __30__ or follow him, and   31   slept in the grass．

       One day, the girl   32   into the plane, started it and soon left the   33   ．Seeing their mother take to the air, the birds   34   flapped（拍打） their wings and   35   ．She flew the plane freely in the sky, her young birds following．

A．managed       B．attempted       C．happened           D．supposed

A．realized      B．expected        C．imagined     D．admitted

A．helped       B．decided          C．afforded      D．meant

A．placed        B．protected       C．treated        D．examined

A．ago         B．out             C．later           D．long

A．family       B．lake            C．home          D．world

A．But         B．Also           C．Thus           D．Still

A．increased       B．improved       C．rose         D．grew

A．ask         B．lead            C．want           D．allow

A．fly           B．race            C．swim          D．sing

A．asleep       B．away            C．around        D．awake

A．idea         B．opinion          C．explanation    D．excuse

A．sky          B．space          C．flight          D．plane

A．his           B．her             C．their               D．its

A．respect     B．remember        C．recognize       D．receive

A．so          B．instead           C．hardly         D．too

A．climbed       B．looked           C．reached       D．fell

A．house       B．floor          C．water          D．ground

A．secretly       B．disappointedly  C．patiently     D．eagerly

looked away      B．set out           C．went by      D．turned back

Today, roller skating is easy and fun．But a long time ago, it wasn’t easy at all. Before 1750, the idea of skating didn’t exist. That changed because of a man named Joseph Merlin. Merlin’s work was making musical instruments. In his spare time he liked to play the violin. Joseph Merlin was a man of ideas and dreams. People called him a dreamer.

One day Merlin received an invitation to attend a fancy dress ball（化装舞会）. He was very pleased and a little excited. As the day of the party came near, Merlin began to think how to make a grand entrance at the party. He had an idea. He thought he would get a lot of attention if he could skate into the room.

　　Merlin tried different ways to make himself roll. Finally, he decided to put two wheels under each shoe. These were the first roller skates. Merlin was very proud of his invention and dreamed of arriving at the party on wheels while playing the violin.

　　On the night of the party Merlin rolled into the room playing his violin. Everyone was astonished to see him. There was just one problem. Merlin had no way to stop his roller skates. He rolled on and on. Suddenly, he ran into a huge mirror that was hanging on the wall. Down fell the mirror, breaking to pieces. Nobody forgot Merlin’s grand entrance for a long time!

1.The text is mainly about ________.

    A．a strange man              B．an unusual party

    C．how roller skating began   D．how people enjoyed themselves in the 18th century

2.People thought Merlin was a dreamer because he _________.

　　A．often gave others surprises　　　　　 B．was a gifted musician

    C．invented the roller skates　　　　　　D．was full of imagination

3.Merlin put wheels under his shoes in order to ________ .

A．impress the party guests　　　　　　B．arrive at the party sooner

C．test his invention　　　　　　　　　D．show his skill in walking on wheels

4.What is the main point the writer is trying to make in the last paragraph?

A．The roller skates needed further improvement.

B．The party guests took Merlin for a fool.

C．Merlin succeeded beyond expectation.   

D．Merlin got himself into trouble.