63. What would be the best title for this passage?

A. Terraforming Mars. 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. Saving the Earth.

C. Travelling to Mars. 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. A Newly-found Place.

62. It can be inferred from the text that the Great American Smokeout ________.

A. is still in great need of existing in US

B. only focuses its attention on adults

C. has become a world-wide organization now

D. has developed very slowly in the past few years

C

Sometime early in the next century, human beings will move to Mars. They will live there for about a year, and then will be replaced with another group of pioneers. Building the base on Mars will advance our knowledge of the solar system and aid in our understanding of the earth.

We already know that Mars resembles the earth in many aspects：general size, presence of water, length of day, range of temperatures. These resemblances have caused many people to consider a centuries-long project：to terraform Mars. Terraforming means altering a planet’s surface so that Earth’s life forms can survive there. This concept, previously found only in science fiction is now being seriously considered by scientists.

Terraforming Mars is theoretically simple：add nitrogen and oxygen to the atmosphere; pump water to the surface; and add the earth’s plants and animals in the order in which they developed on Earth. But it will take at least 300 years.

Some people think that such a project is too huge for humans to undertake, but there are very good reasons to make the attempt. The earth now contains some 6 billion people, and no one has any idea of how many humans the earth can support. Our very existence and numbers are threatening many other species. We also have had some experience with terraforming our own planet：altering the landscape, the atmosphere and the climate. Currently terraforming earth has become a wiser activity as we try to control global warming, air and water pollution, and preserve some natural living places.

While the possibility of such a project is small, it is not impossible. Even if earth-bound societies come and go in the next 300 years, the project can continue through the work of the Mars settlers without the need for constant backing from the earth.

The future existence of all the people in our world may very well depend upon our ability to terraform Mars.

61. What is the meaning of the underlined word “hazards” in Paragraph 2?

A. Markets. 　　　B. Cigarettes. 　　　C. Dangers. 　　　D. Places.

60. During the first five years, the Great American Smokeout ________.

A. was held on the third Thursday of the November

B. was only limited to the area around

C. became the national organization

D. was also very famous in other countries

59. Why did Arthur P. Mullaney come up with the idea?

A. To save money for their lives.

B. To found a famous organization.

C. To spare cigarettes for others.

D. To help the students in a school.

58. In which order did Mrs. Hanson do the following things?

a. She began her studies at college.

b. She finished high school.

c. She got married and gave birth of nine children.

d. She had her 73rd birthday.

e. She went to the bank to borrow money.

A. a-c-b-e-d　 B. b-e-c-a-d　 　C. b-c-e-d-a　 D. e-d-a-c-b

B

In 1971, Arthur P. Mullaney, of Randolph, Massachusetts, came up with a great idea. He asked his neighbors to give up cigarettes for a day and donate the money they would have spent for cigarettes to a high school. During the next five years the idea spread to other communities across the nation. In 1977, the American Cancer Society held the first Great American Smokeout. The event became a tradition held on the third Thursday of November each year.

This year on November 20, the Great American Smokeout will celebrate its 27th birthday. The event has had a great effect on America's health: millions stop smoking for a day, and many of these people successfully take that further and quit for good. It also has changed attitudes toward smoking and resulted in public policies that help keep young people from starting to smoke and protect nonsmokers from the hazards of second-hand smoke.

Smokers are encouraged to put down their cigarettes for 24 hours. Society volunteers provide smoking cessation(停止)activities. Hospitals also hand off self-help materials and information. Many communities hold parades. To make smoking socially unacceptable, the Great American Smokeout has been chaired by some of America's most popular people including Edward Asner and Natalie Cole.

The event has been effective. For example, in 1999, 10 million Americans took the challenge. Of them, 6 percent reported they were smoking less or not at all one to five days later. The focus of the event has evolved from simply helping adults to helping children. However, the Great American Smokeout still faces many challenges. About 47 million adults in the U. S. currently smoke and about half will die prematurely(过早地)from smoking.

57. The computer students welcomed Mrs. Hanson warmly because ______.

A. she had got an excellent result in the exam

B. she was good at telling funny stories

C. they wanted to get her help in their studies

D. they were deeply moved by her spirit

56. Mrs. Hanson couldn’t go to college immediately after she graduated from high school because _______________.

A. she hadn‘t got enough money

B. she was a country girl

C. the banker ordered her not to borrow any money

D. the banker thought she should raise a family of nine children

54. A. honesty　　　　　　　　　　 B. lies　　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. goods　　　　　　　　　　　 D. things