Mars Was Not Always Bitterly Cold

Scientists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have reported evidence that Mars was warmer and wetter long ago than it is today.  The Caltech scientists say they have directly established the temperature of Mars four billion years ago. At least, they established the surface temperature on part of the planet at that time. The researchers say it is the first such evidence to be discovered and presented.

The Caltech scientists say carbonate（碳酸盐） minerals formed on Mars at about eighteen degrees Celsius. They reached the finding after studying a meteorite（陨石） that had its beginnings near the Martian surface.

Today, the average temperature on Mars is sixty-three degrees below zero Celsius.

The finding was reported on the website of the National Academy of Sciences. Caltech Assistant Professor Woody Fischer helped to prepare the report. He says eighteen degrees Celsius is not especially cold or hot. He says this makes the finding extremely interesting. Knowing the temperature can give scientists an idea of the climate on Mars long ago. It can also help them decide whether the planet had liquid water. Spacecraft orbiting Mars have shown what appear to be rivers, lakebeds and mineral deposits. These pictures suggest that, at one time, water did flow there. Mars Rover vehicles and other spacecraft have confirmed the information.

Caltech Geology Professor John Eiler was another writer of the report. He says knowing the temperature of Mars from long ago provides valuable information. It shows that early in the planet's history, at least part of Mars could support a climate like that of Earth.

The meteorite the scientists examined is one of the oldest known rocks in the world. It is called the Allan Hills meteorite. Its name came from the place in Antarctica where it was found in 1984. The meteorite is believed to have blown loose from the Mars' surface when another space rock struck its "home."

1. The underlined word “establish” in Paragraph 1 probably means “___________”.

A．to set up

B．to make people accept a belief

C．to discover or prove

D．to start having a relationship with others

2.How did the scientists reach the finding?

A．By studying Allan Hills meteorite.

B．By using spacecraft orbiting Mars.

C．By studying minerals gathered on Mars

D．By studying a meteorite on the Martian surface.

3.According to the fourth paragraph, what have spacecraft orbiting Mars done?

A．Measuring the temperature of Mars.

B．Taking photos of the surface of Mars.

C．Confirming that there is water flowing on Mars.

D．Finding where human beings will probably land on Mars.

4.How did Allan Hills meteorite get its name?

A．From its original place on Mars.

B．From where it was found on the earth.

C．From the name of the scientist who found it.

D．From the name of the aircraft that discovered it

5. Where can we most probably read this passage?

A．In a biography of scientists.

B．In a geography magazine.

C．In an environment report.

D．In a science report.

 

For as early as I could remember, my mother had been a bright, cheerful woman deeply interested and involved in the world around her. However, in the last fifteen years of her life, she had to live with senile dementia (老年痴呆). I would go to my home to pay her a visit in California and she would curiously look at me and then ask, “Who are you?” I would answer, “I’m your own son, of course.” “Where do you live?” She would ask. “In Virginia”, I would tell her. “Isn’t that interesting,” she would say, “I have a son in Virginia.”

Mother seemed only forgetful as well as confused at the beginning of that disease, but sometime later she would go through different time of intense anxiety. She would keep walk ing through the house she used to live in most of her life crying uneasily that she would like to go home. Or sometimes she left home and wandered away if she were unattended for a short time.

Hoping to make her happy and put her mind at ease I would take her in my car, visiting sites where she used to live when she was a child. In the yard of the hillside house in Shipman I sat in the car and admired the view of the old oaks and long green lawn(草坪). I pictured my mother there was a little girl playing with the pet lamb she had been so fond of. I looked to her for some response. She shook her head and said, “I want to go home.”

Over the years I have decided that what my mother was calling home was not a place, but a time. I think it was a time when she was much younger, when her children were still underfoot, when her husband was still energetic and attentive.

Watching my mother’s suffering set me wondering where I would have in mind if someday I couldn’t find home and wanted to go there. In this family we tend to be long-lived and we grow fuzzy (糊涂的) minded as the years go by. At eighty I have already noticed some alarming symptoms. My doctor says the forgetfulness is only natural and that it comes with age. Still the fear of senile dementia is haunting there. Someday if and when I become even more cloudy minded than I am now, unable to drive and unable to tell you where "home" is, my dear son, I expect I will ask you to take me home, I know you will do your best to find the place I need to be. I leave these notes for your guidance.

1.What’s the main idea of the first and second paragraphs?

A. The mother of the author could not find her home.  

B. The mother of the author could not remember who’s his son.

C. The author’s mother suffered with serious senile dementia.

D. The author didn’t know how to cure his mother.

2.Which of the following is NOT the symptom of the mother of the author?      

A. forgetful                         B. confused      C. cheerful       D. uneasy

3.What’s the meaning of the underlined word “picture”?

A. photograph                  B. describe                 C. appear                   D. paint

4.What can you infer from the third paragraph?

A. The author cared much about his mother.    

B. The mother of the author liked pet lambs very much.

C. The author found a very little girl who was playing with a pet lamb.

D. The mother of the author did not like her usual home.

5.What’s the best title of the passage?

A. Where Is Home?                                              B. A story about a son and a mother.

C. Everyone will suffer with senile dementia.              D. Take Mother Home.

 

The day I became a mom was not the day my daughter was born, but seven years later. Up until that day, I had been too busy trying to survive my abusive(辱骂的) marriage. I had spent all my energy trying to run a "perfect" home that would pass inspection each evening, and I didn't see that my baby girl had become a toddler. I'd tried endlessly to please someone who could never be pleased and suddenly realized that the years had slipped by and could never return. 

Oh, I had done the normal "motherly" things, like making sure my daughter got to ballet and gym lessons. I went to all of her recitals and school concerts, parent-teacher conferences and open houses alone. We suffered from my husband's rages(暴怒) when something was spilled(溢出) at the dinner table, telling her, "It will be okay, Honey. Daddy's not really mad at you." I did all I could to protect her from hearing the awful shouting and complaints after he returned from a night of drinking. Finally I did the best thing I could do for my daughter and myself: I removed us from the home that wasn't really a home at all. 

That day I became a mom was the day when my daughter and I were sitting in our new home having a calm, quiet dinner just as I had always wanted for her. We were talking about what she had done in school and suddenly her little hand knocked over the full glass of chocolate milk by her plate. As I watched the white tablecloth and freshly painted white wall become dark brown, I looked at her small face. It was filled with fear, knowing what the consequence of the event would have meant only a week before in her father's presence. When I saw that look on her face and looked at the chocolate milk running down the wall, I simply started laughing. I am sure she thought I was crazy, but then she must have realized that I was thinking, "It's a good thing your father isn't here!" She started laughing with me, and we laughed until we cried. They were tears of joy and peace and were the first of many tears that we cried together. That was the day we knew that we were going to be okay. 

Whenever either of us spills something, even now, seventeen years later, she says, "Remember the day I spilled the chocolate milk? I knew you had done the right thing for us." That was the day I really became a mom. I discovered that being a mom isn't only going to ballet or gym, recitals, and attending every school concert and open house. It isn't keeping a tidy house and preparing perfect meals. It certainly isn't pretending things are normal when they are not. For me, being a mom started when I could laugh over spilled milk. 

                                       ---- By Linda Jones from “Chicken Soup for Soul”

1.What does the underlined part "the right thing" refer to?

A．Becoming a single mother.

B．Divorcing with her abusive husband.

C．Doing all the motherly things well and running the family.

D．Not blaming on her daughter’s spilling the chocolate milk.

2.Which statement is NOT true?．

A．The author had suffered from an unfortunate marriage for a long time.

B．All the things the author did were to protect her daughter

C．The author hadn’t been a mother until she removed from her marriage.

D．Both the author and her daughter were frightened at the husband and father.

3.Why did the author and her daughter laugh and then cry?

A．Because it was a thorough relief after they had suffered too much.

B．Because they were actually crazy.

C．Because they wouldn’t see the abusive man any more.

D．Because spilling the chocolate milk on the wall was really funny.

4.What is the best title for this article?

A．How To Be a Better Mon?               B．The Day I Became a Mom

C．A Thing Happened 17 Years Ago          D．Survive an Abusive Marriage

 

Who are these people rushing by you on the street? More than 250 million people now call Amer??ica" home" , but most of them can trace their families back to other parts of the world. If you, look at the names on shop windows, you will see that Americans come from many different lands. The idea that these people, who once were strangers to the United States，have lost the customs and cultures of their original countries and have become "Americans"is really not true. In fact, what exists in Ameri??ca is - more often a kind of “ side - by - side" living in which groups of people from other countries often have kept many of their own customs and habits. They join the general American society only in certain areas of their lives such as in schools，business，and sports一but they keep many of their own native customs and manners socially and at home. This “ side - by - side" living has both advantages and disadvantages. Sometimes it may cause disagreements to develop between groups whose ways of life are very different from one another. However, there are also great advantages that come from the variety of cultures brought by settlers from other lands. There is great freedom of choice among ideas ’ dress, food, and social customs in America. Everyone can find some part of his or her own familiar world in the United States, in churches, music, food, national groups, or newspaper.

More than 250 million people call America ”home" because       .

they have their houses there

they settle there now

they want to make their home there

they like that land very much

Side - by - side living style means     .

A . to make friends with native people

B . to keep their own customs while sharing American ones in certain areas

C . that the groups of people live nearby

D . that they get closer to American society

According to the passage, people in the USA    .

A share American customs and cultures

B live in a kind of side - by - side society

C keep their own customs and habits firmly

D make no choice to accept American customs

Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A They always stick to their own customs and habits.

B Side - by - side living style is not suitable.

C They face the society they are not familiar with.

D The advantages coming from the variety of cultures make life in America colorful.

Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

A  Advantages and Disadvantages

B  Different Customs and Habits

C  Home for the People

D  Side - by - Side Living Style in America

What makes a house a home?

Not size, of course．I've been in some of the grandest houses in America, and it's readily apparent no one lives there．Earlier this year, I had dinner in a mud hut in Ethiopia, where we sat on chairs next to the hostess' bed -- a home that had more warmth than any house I've been in since．

Now John Edwards is exploring what makes a house a home in his just-released Home: The Blueprints of Our Lives．There Edwards writes, " This is a book about homes, the values they rest on, the dreams they are filled with, and the people they have shaped．The houses and circumstances are different, but much of what you find inside will be familiar．"     

Whether you're sitting in an airport right now, waiting to fly to your childhood home for Thanksgiving, or in your own home waiting for the relatives to arrive, you know what he's talking about．

We've lived in our townhouse for 21 years．The loose windows that make noise in the wind．The fireplace so shallow it holds only one log．The kitchen window that offers a view of the world passing by．It's where friends sit on the kitchen counter drinking wine while dinner is being fixed．I lived there for only 18, but it will always be my true home．Even the lamp in the west living room window, which I could see far down the road when driving home late at night, still shines．

While all this talk about childhood memories can be warm and comforting, home is whom you're with, not where you are．As Edwards writes, "Home is family．Home is safety．Home is faith．"

Happy homecoming．

1.What would be the best title for the text?

A．Home Means Everything	B．What's Inside Makes Us Feel at Home
C．Home: The Blueprints of Our Lives	D．The Importance of the Home

2.The purpose of the second paragraph is to __

A．mean the author likes living in grandest houses

B．prove the author got along well with the hostess

C．mean the feeling of home isn't related to the size

D．show the author's different feelings about houses

3.About the book Home: The Blueprints of Our Lives, we know that __

A．it was the description of Edwards' houses

B．it is mainly about houses

C．it helps us understand the concept of home

D．it was written by the author of the text

4.What did the author mainly mean when he mentioned the loose windows and the shallow fireplace ?

A．His house was too old to live in．	B．He missed the feelings of home．
C．He hated living there．	D．He missed his old friends too much．

5.It can be inferred according to the text that __

A．the author's family were very rich	B．every happy home is the same
C．the author has been living a hard life	D．the author and Edwards hold similar ideas