Scientists have found what look like caves on Mars, and say they could be protecting life from the planet’s terrible environment.

The first caves appear as seven mysterious black dots （点） on the pictures which were sent back by NASA’s Mars Odyssey orbiter. Each as large as a football field, they may be openings into natural caves below the Martian surface.

“If there is life on Mars, there is a good chance that you’d find it in caves,” said Jut Wynne, one of the researchers who noticed the features (特征) while working on a US Geological Survey Mars Cave Detection Program.

Jonathan Clarke, a geologist with the Mars Society of Australia, yesterday described the discovery as exciting.

One photo taken at night by an infrared imager(红外线成像器) showed one hole to be unusually warm, suggesting hot air may be flowing out.

“I said: ‘Wow, that’s a cave’” Dr. Clarke said excitedly. “People have been looking for these for a long time; now we have found them.”

He agreed such caves could be perfect places to search for life escaping from the bitterly cold, radiation-soaked(充满辐射的), dry surface.

“Tiny drops of water could collect inside,” he said. “If there are gases coming out, they could provide energy for a whole range of bacteria (细菌). A cave is also a protection from radiation; the surface of Mars is exposed to high levels of space radiation.”

The caves probably formed when tube-shaped lava flows(管状岩浆流) spread across the planet long ago. The outside of the tubes cooled, forming solid walls, while something hotter inside allowed the remaining to flow out, forming caves.

What does the passage mainly talk about?

A. How the caves were formed on Mars.

B. How NASA sent the pictures back to earth

C. Caves on Mars may be full of hot air or a sign（迹象）of life.

D. Scientists have completely recognized the surface of Mars.

We can learn from the passage that __________.

A. water has already been found on Mars

B. the scientists found all the caves at night

C. it is certain that there is life in these caves

D. the surface of Mars is bitterly cold, radiation-soaked and dry

According to the passage, Dr. Clarke was so excited because ________.

A. such caves could provide energy for life

B. they had finally found the caves on Mars

C. such caves would be perfect places to search for life

D. There would be life on Mars.

Necessary conditions for life on Mars mentioned in the passage may include_________.

A. lava and energy          B. water and radiation from space

C. gases and lava           D. water and protection from radiation

what does the underlined word “ the planet” in paragraph 1 refer to?

A. the Mars     B. the earth      C. the caves       D. radiation

Scientists have found what look like caves on Mars, and say they could be protecting life from the planet’s terrible environment.
The first caves appear as seven mysterious black dots （点） on the pictures which were sent back by NASA’s Mars Odyssey orbiter. Each as large as a football field, they may be openings into natural caves below the Martian surface.
“If there is life on Mars, there is a good chance that you’d find it in caves,” said Jut Wynne, one of the researchers who noticed the features (特征) while working on a US Geological Survey Mars Cave Detection Program.
Jonathan Clarke, a geologist with the Mars Society of Australia, yesterday described the discovery as exciting.
One photo taken at night by an infrared imager(红外线成像器) showed one hole to be unusually warm, suggesting hot air may be flowing out.
“I said: ‘Wow, that’s a cave’” Dr. Clarke said excitedly. “People have been looking for these for a long time; now we have found them.”
He agreed such caves could be perfect places to search for life escaping from the bitterly cold, radiation-soaked(充满辐射的), dry surface.
“Tiny drops of water could collect inside,” he said. “If there are gases coming out, they could provide energy for a whole range of bacteria (细菌). A cave is also a protection from radiation; the surface of Mars is exposed to high levels of space radiation.”
The caves probably formed when tube-shaped lava flows(管状岩浆流) spread across the planet long ago. The outside of the tubes cooled, forming solid walls, while something hotter inside allowed the remaining to flow out, forming caves.
【小题1】 What does the passage mainly talk about?

A．such caves could provide energy for life

B．they had finally found the caves on Mars

C．such caves would be perfect places to search for life

D．There would be life on Mars.

Scientists have found what look like caves on Mars, and say they could be protecting life from the planet’s terrible environment.

The first caves appear as seven mysterious black dots （点） on the pictures which were sent back by NASA’s Mars Odyssey orbiter. Each as large as a football field, they may be openings into natural caves below the Martian surface.

“If there is life on Mars, there is a good chance that you’d find it in caves,” said Jut Wynne, one of the researchers who noticed the features (特征) while working on a US Geological Survey Mars Cave Detection Program.

Jonathan Clarke, a geologist with the Mars Society of Australia, yesterday described the discovery as exciting.

One photo taken at night by an infrared imager(红外线成像器) showed one hole to be unusually warm, suggesting hot air may be flowing out.

“I said: ‘Wow, that’s a cave’” Dr. Clarke said excitedly. “People have been looking for these for a long time; now we have found them.”

He agreed such caves could be perfect places to search for life escaping from the bitterly cold, radiation-soaked(充满辐射的), dry surface.

“Tiny drops of water could collect inside,” he said. “If there are gases coming out, they could provide energy for a whole range of bacteria (细菌). A cave is also a protection from radiation; the surface of Mars is exposed to high levels of space radiation.”

The caves probably formed when tube-shaped lava flows(管状岩浆流) spread across the planet long ago. The outside of the tubes cooled, forming solid walls, while something hotter inside allowed the remaining to flow out, forming caves.

1. What does the passage mainly talk about?

A. How the caves were formed on Mars.

B. How NASA sent the pictures back to earth

C. Caves on Mars may be full of hot air or a sign（迹象）of life.

D. Scientists have completely recognized the surface of Mars.

2. We can learn from the passage that __________.

A. water has already been found on Mars

B. the scientists found all the caves at night

C. it is certain that there is life in these caves

D. the surface of Mars is bitterly cold, radiation-soaked and dry

3. According to the passage, Dr. Clarke was so excited because ________.

A. such caves could provide energy for life

B. they had finally found the caves on Mars

C. such caves would be perfect places to search for life

D. There would be life on Mars.

4. Necessary conditions for life on Mars mentioned in the passage may include_________.

A. lava and energy          B. water and radiation from space

C. gases and lava           D. water and protection from radiation

5. what does the underlined word “ the planet” in paragraph 1 refer to?

A. the Mars     B. the earth      C. the caves       D. radiation

Have you ever noticed someone "talking" to them-selves? What did you think? The word "crazy" probably came to your mind. Wait a minute, though. Maybe they’re doing something meaningful.
Speaking practice can be effective in many different forms when people learn English or another foreign language. Imitating the speech of others is proven to be highly effective in developing a native speaker’s level of fluency in a language. Actually you’ve already proven that to your-self.
How? That’s how you learned your first language! Whether it was English, Spanish, French or some other language, you "imitated" your mother, father, other family members, friends, teachers and whoever else was around making "talking" noises at you as you formed your first communicative language skills.
So don’t think those who are talking to themselves are "crazy". At least don’t do so until you’ve tried it for your-self, in English or in your new foreign language.
As you go through your day, in English or your new foreign language, tell yourself what you’re doing at the moment and what you’re going to do during the day.
"Which of these shirts, ties, etc. should I wear today? Not this one, I wore it just last week. Maybe this one, but I don’t like this color with the pants. Let’s try another one," you might say as you are getting dressed.
If you live alone, you can talk aloud whenever you want without disturbing others. If you don’t live alone, however, then first explain to your family or roommates what you’ll be doing, to avoid a quiet phone call to the local psychiatrist (精神病学家)

1. 1.

   The author wrote the passage mainly to ______.

   1. A.
      tell us how to talk to ourselves
   2. B.
      introduce a method of learning a foreign language
   3. C.
      tell us why some people talk to themselves
   4. D.
      explain to us how we learned our native language
2. 2.

   What does the underlined word "it" in the fifth paragraph refer to?

   1. A.
      The word "crazy"
   2. B.
      A foreign language
   3. C.
      The skill of communicating
   4. D.
      The method of talking to oneself
3. 3.

   From the passage we can know that ______.

   1. A.
      people who talk to themselves are crazy
   2. B.
      if you live alone, you should talk to yourself
   3. C.
      you should tell yourself what you’re doing
   4. D.
      we learned our native language by imitating