下面这篇短文节选自科幻小说The Space Invaders（太空入侵者），阅读这篇短文按照要求回答短文后面的问题：

I am Omega

　　Varon pushed his way through the thick, wet grass of the swamp. Behind him, he heard the sound of loud voices. He tried to go faster, but the thick grass held him back. He had to push his way through it step by step. Varon had come about three kilometres from the Zeron strongroom(保险库) and was very tired.

　　The first part of Varon's plan had beer successful. He had got into the strongroom deep under the ground－he had found the crystal(水晶)－and he had got out again. He had succeeded in stealing one of the most valuable crystals in the Universe. And no one had seen him.

　　But the second part of his plan had gone completely wrong. The guards on the planet Zeron had found his spaceship. Varon had been told that only the strongroom on Zeron was guarded. But now he knew that was wrong. There were guards all over the planet. The guards had been waiting for him when he got back to the spaceship. And now they were chasing(追赶) him and there was no way he could escape.

　　Varon pulled himself slowly to his feet. His face, hands and overalls(防护服)were covered in thick green mud. Varon wiped his hands on his overalls and felt in his pocket. The small, square box was still there. And in the box, there was the Zeron crystal. The crystal would make him rich－very, very rich. But first, he had to get back inside his ship. There was no other way he could escape from Zeron.

　　He now moved out of the long, thick grass. He was standing on harder, drier ground. There were some thick bushes in front of him. Behind him, there was the swamp and the guards who were chasing him. Varon hurried towards the thick bushes.

　　“I must get back to the spaceship.” Varon thought. “I'll have to find some way of tricking the guards. I can't escape from Zeron if I can't get back to the spaceship.”

　　Varon took two steps forward into the bushes. Suddenly he stopped. He knew he was not alone. He dropped down on one knee. There was somebody near him. His hand reached for the laser gun on his belt.

　　“Do not touch your weapon(武器).” said a soft voice.

　　The voice spoke from behind a bush. Varon turned towards the voice and pulled his gun from his belt. He pointed the laser gun at the bush and pressed the trigger(扳机). Nothing happened. Varon pressed the trigger again. Again, nothing happened.

　　The quiet voice spoke once more. “Your gun cannot be used. Put it back in your belt. You will not be harmed.”

　　Varon lowered his hand, but did not put the gun back in his belt. He rose slowly and took a step towards the bush.

　　“You are not permitted to move any nearer,” said the soft, quiet voice. It was a strange voice －neither friendly nor unfriendly.

　　Varon raised his foot to take another step towards the bush. But he could not move his leg forward. He tried and tried to move his leg, but it would not move. He could move backwards, but he could not go nearer the bush.

　　“Who are you?” Varon asked. “What do you want from me?” “I want to help you, Stefan Varon,” said the voice. “You know my name!” said Varon in surprise. No one on Zeron knew him. “Yes, I know your name. And I know what you do. And where you come from. And why you are here. I know every thing. I am Omega.”

　　The leaves of the bush were moved slowly to one side. A tall figure stood in front of Varon. The figure was made of metal. Its face was neither friendly nor unfriendly. It did not have a nose, mouth, eyes and ears like a human. It was a robot!

　　Varon was very surprised. He knew that the guards on Zeron did not use robots. He knew there were no robots on Zeron. Or was he wrong again? A robot was standing here in front of him. “What do you want from me?” Varon asked once again.

　　The robot did not reply. It seemed to be listening to something. Its head moved round to the right. Varon heard the voices of the Zeron guards.

　　“He's over there,” a voice shouted. “Near those bushes!” Varon turned to the left and began to run. Omega raised one arm and pointed it at Varon. A bright, red light came from the metal arm and covered Varon's body. The red light quickly fade

D．When the Zeron guards reached the bushes, they found nothing. Varon and Omega had disappeared.

Answer the following questions.

1．What had Varon stolen?

________________________________

2．Why could Varon not get back into his spaceship?

________________________________

3．A tall figure stood in front of Varon.

(a) What was the tall figure?

________________________________

(b) What was its name?

________________________________

(c) Why was Varon surprised?

________________________________

4．When the Zeron guards reached the bushes, they found nothing. What had happened to Varon?

________________________________

Walking down a path through some woods in Georgia, I saw a small pool of water ahead on the path. I angled my direction to go around it on the part of the path that wasn't covered by water or mud. As I reached the pool, I was suddenly attacked!

Yet I did nothing for the attack. It was so unpredictable and from somewhere totally unexpected. I was surprised as well as unhurt though I had been struck four or five times. I backed up a foot and my attacker stopped attacking me. Had I been hurt I wouldn't have found it amusing. And I was laughing. After all, I was being attacked by a butterfly!

　　Having stopped laughing, I took a step forward. My attacker rushed me again. He charged towards me at full speed, attempting to hurt me but in vain. For a second time, I took a step backwards while my attacker paused. I wasn't sure what to do. After all, it’s just not everyday that one is attacked by a butterfly. I stepped back to look the situation over. My attacker moved back to land on the ground. That's when I discovered why my attacker was charging me only moments earlier. He had a mate and she was dying.

　　Sitting close beside her, he opened and closed his wings as if to fan her. I could only admire the love and courage of that butterfly in his concern for his mate. He had taken it up on himself to attack me for his mate’s sake, even though she was clearly dying and I was so large. He did so just to give her those extra few precious moments of life. Should I have been careless enough to step on her? His courage in attacking something thousands of times larger and heavier than himself just for his mate’s safety seemed admirable. I couldn’t do anything other than reward him by walking on the more difficult side of the pool. He had truly earned those moments to be with her, undisturbed.

　　Since then, I’ve used that butterfly’s courage as an inspiration and to remind myself that good things are worth fighting for.

1.The writer changed his direction while walking down a path because he wanted_______.

A. to get close to a butterfly

B. to escape a sudden attack

C. to look over the bad situation

D. to avoid getting his shoes dirty

2.From the passage we can learn that the attacker _________.

A. struck the author four or five times and made him badly hurt

B. paused until the author took a step backwards

C. thought it was the author who caused the death of his mate

D. attacked the author for his mate’s safety and to accompany her for the last moments of life

3.From this experience the man learned_____.

A. butterflies are brave insects

B. the small can defeat the large

C. how to deal with challenges in his life

D. people should try their best to fight for everything

4.Which of the following words can best describe the butterfly?

A. caring     B. ambitious     C. courageous       D. aggressive

 

Federal regulators Wednesday approved a plan to create a nationwide emergency alert (警报) system using text messages delivered to cell phones.

Text messages have exploded in popularity in recent years，particularly among young people.The wireless industry’s trade association，CTIA，estimates (估计) more than 48 billion text messages are sent each month.

The plan comes from the Warning Alert and Response Network Act，a 2009 federal law that requires improvement to the nation’s emergency alert system.The act tasked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) with coming up with new ways to alert the public about emergencies.

“The ability to deliver accurate and timely warnings and alerts through cell phones and other mobile services is an important next step in our efforts to help ensure that the American public has the information they need to take action to protect themselves and their families before，and during，disasters and other emergencies，” FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said following approval of the plan.

Participation in the alert system by carriers－telecommunications companies－is voluntary，but it has received solid support from the wireless industry.

The program would be optional for cell phone users.They also may not be charged for receiving alerts.

There would be three different types of messages，according to the rules.

The first would be a national alert from the president，likely involving a terrorist attack or natural disaster.The second would involve “approaching threats”，which could include natural disasters like hurricanes or storms or even university shootings.The third would be reserved for child abduction (绑架) emergencies，or so?called Amber Alerts.

The service could be in place by 2010.

1．What is the purpose of the approved plan?

A．To warn people of emergencies via messages.

B．To popularize the use of cell phones.

C．To estimate the monthly number of messages.

D．To promote the wireless industry.

 

2．The improvement to the present system is in the charge of________.

A．CTIA　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B．the Warning Alert and Response Network

C．FCC　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D．federal regulators

3．The carriers’ participation in the system is determined by________.

A．the US federal government　　　　　　 B．mobile phone users

C．the carriers themselves　　　　 　　　 D．the law of the United States

4．Which of the following is TRUE of cell phone users?

A．They must accept the alert service.

B．They may enjoy the alert service for free.

C．They must send the alerts to others.

D．They may choose the types of messages.

5．An alert message will NOT be sent if________.

A．a child loses his way　　　　　　　　 B．a university shooting happens

C．a natural disaster happens　　　　　　 D．a terrorist attack occurs

 

完形填空 （共15小题； 每小题2分，满分30分）

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从下列各题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该题涂黑。

I climbed the stairs slowly，carrying a big suitcase，my father following with two more. By the time I got to the third floor，I was　1　and at the same time feeling lonely. Worse still，Dad　2　a step and fell，sending my new suitcases 　3　down the stairs. “Damn!”he screamed，his face turning red. I knew trouble was ahead. Whenever Dad's face turns red，　4　！

How could I ever　5　him to finish unloading the car without screaming at me and making a scene in front of the other girls，girls I would have to spend the rest of the  6  with？Doors were opening and faces peering out(探出)，as Dad walked with difficulty close behind. I felt it in my bones that my college life was getting off to a(n)　7　start.

“Enter the room quickly，”I thought. “Get him into a chair and calmed down.” But then again，would there be a chair in Room 316？Or would it be a(n)　8　room？

　 

Finally I turned the key in the lock and   9   the door open，with Dad still   10    about a hurting knee or something. I put my head in，　11　the worst. But to my　12　，the room wasn't empty at all！It had furniture，curtains，a TV，and even paintings on the walls.

And there on a well??made bed sat Amy，my new roommate，dressed neatly. Greeting me with a nod，she said in a soft voice，“Hi，you must be Cori.” Then，she　13　the music and looked over at Dad. “And of course，you're Mr.Faber，”she said，　14　.“Would you like a glass of iced tea？”Dad's face turned 15　 less red before he could bring out a “yes.”

I knew then that Amy and I would be friends and my first year of college would be a success.

1．A．helpless	B．lazy	C．anxious	D．tired
2．A．took	B．minded	C．missed	D．picked
3．A．falling	B．rolling	C．dropping	D．coming
4．A．go ahead	B．look out	C．hold on	D．give away
5．A．lead	B．help	C．encourage	D．get
6．A．year	B．season	C．month	D．day
7．A．fresh	B．late	C．bad	D．unfair
8．A．small	B．empty	C．new	D．neat
9．A．knocked	B．forced	C．pushed	D．tried
10．A．thinking	B．complaining	C．talking	D．arguing
11．A．expecting	B．catching	C．finding	D．forgetting
12．A．regret	B．disappointment	C．astonishment	D．knowledge
13．A．turned on	B．turned down	C．turned up	D．turned away
14．A．questioning	B．wondering	C．smiling	D．guessing
15．A．helplessly	B．hurriedly	C．happily	D．obviously