48. According to the passage, we know Phoenix will land on Mars _________.

A. in May 2008　　　　　　

B. in August 2007　　

C. in August 2008　　　　　

D. in September 2008

47. The underlined word “prematurely” (Paragraph 5) means _________.

　　　　 A. on time　　 B. behind the time　　　 C. out of work　　　 D. ahead of time

46. The passage mainly tells readers that _________.

　　　　 A. clues of water will be found in Phoenix

　　　　 B. Phoenix will be sent to find clues of water on Mars

　　　　 C. August 2007 will see Phoenix lift off

　　　　 D. the Mars Scout program will be carried out

45.A。是非判断题。根据第一段可知,如果不立刻采取措施的话,在2010年之前所有的海洋就极有可能都变成死水一潭,所以现在还没有出现这样情况。

B(words:303 & 174)

A Plan For Exploring Mars (火星探索计划)

NASA is moving ahead with plans to put a long-armed lander on Mars’ icy north pole to search for clues^① for water and possible signs of life.

The $386 million Phoenix Mars is planned to touch down in the Martian arctic in 2008. The stationary probe will use its robotic arm to dig into the icy land and pick up soil samples^② to analyze. In 2002, the Mars Odyssey orbiter spotted evidence of ice-rich soil near the arctic surface.

Scientists hope the Phoenix mission will find clues to the geologic history of water on the Red Planet and determine whether microbes^③ existed in the ice.

Phoenix will be the first mission of the Mars Scout program, a renewed, low-cost effort to study the Red Planet. “The Phoenix mission explores new territory in the northern plains of Mars analogous to the permafrost regions on Earth,” Peter Smith said.

True to its name, Phoenix rose from the ashes of previous^④ missions. The lander for Phoenix was built to fly as part of the 2001 Mars Surveyor program. But the program broke down after the well-known disappearance of the Mars Polar Lander in 1999. The Polar Lander lost contact during a landing attempt near the planet’s south pole after its rocket engine shut off prematurely, causing the spacecraft to fall about 130 feet to almost certain destruction.

The Phoenix probe had been in storage at a Lockheed Martin clean room in Denver before it was reused for its present mission. It will carry science instruments that were designed for the Mars Surveyor program including an improved panoramic camera and a trench-digging robotic arm. Phoenix will lift off from the Kennedy Space Center in August 2007 and land on the planet nine months later.

Notes:

①　　 clue　 n. 线索

②　　 sample　 n. 标本，样品

③　　 microbe　 n. 微生物

④　　 previous　 adj. 先前的

43.C。细节理解题。根据第二段“It is illegal to pour oil into the sea close to the shore”可知。44.D。猜测词义题。根据选项的内容,只有D项中的黑海和地中海是在欧洲,其他选项不完全是这样。

42.D。细节理解题。根据第二段的第二句话“It is almost impossible to measure how much waste water and industrial waste end up in our oceans”?可知?。

41.D。主旨大意题。短文说明的是海水的污染问题之一: 向海中倾倒油所导致的污染。所以正确答案为选项D。

45. Which of the following statements is WRONG according to the passage?　

A. All the Oceans in the world are polluted by oil.　

B. The water body of the earth will be dead by the year 2010.　

C. It's possible that all the creatures in the sea will die out if no action is taken.

D. Some kinds of the living things in the waters have been poisoned and we must be careful of them.　

[A篇答案与解析]　 41-45 DDCDA

本文说明的是海水的污染问题之一: 向海中倾倒油所导致的污染。如果不立刻采取措施的话,在2010年之前所有的海洋就极有可能都变成死水一潭。

44. What does the underlined word European waters' mean?

A. The seas around Europe and Africa.　　　

B. The Atlantic Ocean.　

C. The Arctic Ocean.　　　　　　　　　　

D. The Black Sea and the Mediterranean mainly.　

43. Which of the following is illegal?

A. Pouring oil into the sea from land, especially when there is no other choice.

B. Allowing waste materials to flow into the waters.　

C. Pouring oil at seaside.　

D. Going fishing when the water is polluted by oil.