[单项选择]Human fascination with space began hundreds of years ago. That interest has not waned, and today, the Hubble Telescope orbits 375 miles above Earth, working nonstop to unlock the secrets of the universe. The Hubble uses state-of-the-art instruments to provide amazing views of the universe that cannot be matched by ground-based telescopes. The reason for this is that, from the ground, we look at stars and other objects in space through Earth’s atmosphere. Our atmosphere is full of clouds, dust, and pollution, which cause everything we see to shimmer and shake. This effect creates difficulty for scientists on the ground to make steady, accurate measurements of objects moving in space. With assistance from the Hubble Telescope, astronomers can pinpoint the location of faraway stars and galaxies, and measure the speeds and distances of astronomical objects with far greater precision. Astronomers may even one day tell us exactly when the universe began.

[单项选择]Human fascination with space began hundreds of years ago. That interest has not waned, and today, the Hubble Telescope orbits 375 miles above Earth, working nonstop to unlock the secrets of the universe. The Hubble uses state-of-the-art instruments to provide amazing views of the universe that cannot be matched by ground-based telescopes. The reason for this is that, from the ground, we look at stars and other objects in space through Earth’s atmosphere. Our atmosphere is full of clouds, dust, and pollution, which cause everything we see to shimmer and shake. This effect creates difficulty for scientists on the ground to make steady, accurate measurements of objects moving in space. With assistance from the Hubble Telescope, astronomers can pinpoint the location of faraway stars and galaxies, and measure the speeds and distances of astronomical objects with far greater precision. Astronomers may even one day tell us exactly when the universe began.

[单项选择]The problem of how human speech began is one that men will never cease to explore.
A. 关于如何开始说话这个问题，人类是无法探索的。
B. 人类演讲是怎样起源的问题是人们永远也不会停止探索的。
C. 人类开始演讲这个问题，绝不可能被停止探索。
D. 人类语言是怎样起源的，这是人们永远也不会停止探索的问题。

[单项选择]
While scientists are searching the cause of the Columbia disaster, NASA．is moving ahead with plans to develop a new craft that would replace shuttles (航天飞机) on space station missions by 2012 and respond quickly to space station emergencies.
The space agency released the first set of mission needs and requirements several days ago for the orbital space plane (轨道航天飞机), which would be designed to transport a crew of four to and from the International Space Station.NASA plans to design the new space craft to
A．control the International Space Station.
B．carry astronauts to the International Space Station.
C．transport equipment to the International Space Station.
D．train astronauts in space flights.
A. Although it includes few specifics, the plan states the orbiter (轨道航天飞机) will be safer, cheaper and require less preparation time than the shuttle. It would be able to transport four crew members by 2012—though it would be available for rescue missions by 2010. NASsays the craft should be able to transport injured or ill space station crew members to "definitive (决定性的) medical care" within 24 hours.
B. The release of the requirements showed NASremains focused on the long-term priorities of space exploration, even as questions exist concerning the loss of Columbia and its seven-member crew on February 1,2003.

[单项选择]

Human beings have eaten apples for millions of years. Scientists agree that 85 percent of apples is water and they can grow in almost everywhere except the hottest and the coldest places. As is known to all, China and the United States are the two major countries in producing apples.
There are a great variety of apples. Surprisingly, the majority of apples are for sale without any processing. Various sorts of apples are grown in the US, among which Delicious, Golden Delicious, and Mclntosh are the most common ones.
Apples are different from each other in color, taste and size. The color of the skin might be green, red or yellow. They have a wide range of sizes, among which Delicious apples are the largest. The taste might be divided into two categories: sweet or sour (酸的) . Generally speaking, sweet apples are eaten while sour apples are utilized to make applesauce (苹果酱).
Apple trees may grow to thirteen meters, They grow best in those areas where winters
A. grown in America
B. sold everywhere
C. the biggest among all kinds of apples
D. very sour

[填空题]The Milky Way began to form about 11.5 billion years earlier than Earth.

[填空题]Should the U.S. halt human space flight
The Columbia accident has revived the debate on whether the rewards of
human space exploration are worth the risks.
No. I was a teacher when men first landed on the moon in 1969, and I remember how it moved my students and this country. (46) And we haven’t ventured outward since then. That’s 30 years too long! America’s human space-flight program is adrift, with no clear vision or goals beyond the completion of the International Space Station.
I want NASA to establish a phased series of goals over the next 20 years, including human visits to asteroids that cross the Earth’s orbit, establishing a research and living facility for humans on the moon, and human expeditions to the surface of Mars and its moons. (47) .
An astronaut is today’s Christopher Columbus, who sailed into the unknown and discovered the Americas. The knowledge we gain from having actua

[单项选择]The Space Age officially began on October 4, 1957, (1) the Soviet Union launched the modest 185-pound Sputnik Ⅰ, the first (2) satellite to orbit the earth. The following month, Russians succe- ssfully launched the 1100-pound Sputnik Ⅱ, (3) carried into space the globe, a female dog (4) Laika, who suffocated (窒息) on the sixth day of the (5) because of a failure (6) the internal temperature of the craft. But the satellite itself orbited the earth for 162 days and (7) up on reentering the earth’s atmosphere.
The United States, (8) second fiddle (小提琴) to its superpower (9) , orbited its first satellite, Explorer I, on January 31, 1958. It was a lightweight, 18-pound craft, carrying not animals but (10) instruments to study the (11) bands of energy in space (12) as the Van Allen radiation belts. Within the (13) fifteen years man had gone to th
A. carrying
B. launching
C. sending
D. landing