Thirteen vehicles lined up last March to race across the Mojave Desert, seeking a million in prize money. To win, they had to finish the 142-mile race in less than 10 hours. Teams and watchers knew there might be no winner at all, because these vehicles were missing a key part －drivers.

DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, organized the race as part of a push to develop robotic vehicles for future battlefields. But the Grand Challenge, as it was called, just proved how difficult it is to get a car to speed across an unfamiliar desert without human guidance. One had its brake lock up in the starting area. Another began by throwing itself onto a wall. Another got tied up by bushes near the road after 1.9 miles.

One turned upside down. One took off in entirely the wrong direction and had to be disabled by remote (远距离的) control. One went a little more than a mile and rushed into a fence; another managed to go for six miles but stuck on a rock. The “winner,” if there was any, reached 7.8 miles before it ran into a long, narrow hole, and the front wheels caught on fire.

“You get a lot of respect for natural abilities of the living things,” says Reinhold Behringer, who helped design two of the car-size vehicles for a company called Sci-Autonics. “Even ants (蚂蚁) can do all these tasks effortlessly . It’s very hard for us to put these abilities into our machines.”

The robotic vehicles, though with necessary modern equipment such as advanced computers and GPS guidance, had trouble figuring out fast enough the blocks ahead that a two-year-old human recognizes immediately, Sure, that very young child, who has just only learned to walk, may not think to wipe apple juice off her face, but she already knows that when there’s a cookie in the kitchen she has to climb up the table, and that when she gets to the cookie it will taste good. She is more advanced, even months old, than any machine humans have designed.

Watchers doubted if any of the vehicles could finish the race because        .

A．they did not have any human guidance

B．the road was not familiar to the drivers

C．the distance was too long for the vehicles

D．the prize money was unattractive to the drivers

DARPA organized the race in order to         .

A．raise money for producing more robotic vehicles

B．push the development of vehicle industry

C．train more people to drive in the desert

D．improve the vehicles for future wars

From the passage we know “robotic vehicles” are a kind of machines that         .

A．can do effortlessly whatever tasks living thing can

B．can take part in a race across 142 miles with a time limit

C．can show off their ability to turn themselves upside down

D．can move from place to place without being driven by human beings

In the race, the greatest distance one robotic vehicle covered was          .

A．about eight miles    B．six miles

C．almost two miles     D．about one mile

In the last paragraph, the writer implies that there is a long way to go         .

A．for a robotic vehicle to finish a 142-mile race without any difficulties

B．for a little child who has just learned to walk to reach the cookie on the table

C．for a robotic vehicle to deal with a simple problem that a little child can solve

D．for a little child to understand the importance of wiping apple juice off its face

This recently-released documentary(纪录片)had some fantastic footage(镜头) in it, and a very personal look at many of the astronauts who went to the moon. Overall, that is a very exclusive(独特的) club; only about a dozen men ever did it in the history of the world and just eight or nine ever stepped foot on it. Most of them are still alive and they discuss their adventures, insights and personal feelings here.
One gets the feeling that the rest of us will never know exactly how beautiful the moon is except to take the astronauts’s words about it, because even the pictures on this DVD can’t convey that.
Since this documentary is about 100 minutes long, you get a lot of information. You also get reminded how close two of the three men who went up on that historic first walk on the moon almost didn’t get home alive.
An absence in this documentary is the most famous astronaut of them all: Neil Armstrong, the first man to step foot on the moon! Apparently, he did not want to be part of this film. One of the astronauts mentions something briefly about Armstrong being somewhat of a “recluse(隐居者)” now and it “being understandable with what he’s gone through”. From what I’ve read, a lot of people have tried to make money off him in shady ways and so now he’s withdrawn(退出) from the public spotlight.
This film, a legacy to the Apollo program and the brave men who ran it, should be in every schoolroom. It would make history more interesting to students.
【小题1】What can we know from the passage?

A．One of the astronauts talks about how beautiful the moon is.

B．Two of the three men who went to the moon lost their lives.

C．The documentary would make more students interested in history.

D．The astronauts talk about their adventures, insights and excitement.

【小题2】How many astronauts first flew to the moon?

A．1

B．2

C．3.

D．4

【小题3】Why was Armstrong absent from the film?

A．Because he didn’t like to show in public.

B．Because he has been tired of astronaut’s life.

C．Because someone wanted to make money off him.

D．Because he thought what he did was nothing to mention.

【小题4】What made Armstrong famous around the world?

A．That he came back safely to the earth alive.

B．That he became an astronaut.

C．That he first stepped on the moon.

D．That he walked on the moon for 100 minutes.

I would like to talk to you about one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen. I was born and raised there and now I visit it from time to time. My family moved to the city, so I only go back to see friends or to camp and fish.
I grew up in a small town called Antonito Co. It is surrounded by mountains. So camping is a big source of happiness in the valley. There are so many beautiful places to hike.
The town itself is very small. It is said that if you blink when you’re going through it, you’ll miss it. This has some truth in it considering the size of the town. We have one grocery store, a tiny post office, and a tiny bank. There are also a few gas stations, bars, some excellent restaurants, a small hospital and of course several schools. However, for clothing and shoes, you have to drive thirty miles to Alamosa to shop there.
Everyone in the town is nice and we all know each other. The crime rate is zero unless you count some weekend fights that break out because some people drink too much. The classes in school are small, so you get a lot of attention from the teacher.
You’re probably wondering why I don’t live there. Well, I can’t get a job there. A lot of the businesses are family-owned. And they never fire their employees. So the employees work there usually until they retire. Most people have to go to other places to get a job .
【小题1】What is this passage mainly about?

A．An introduction to the writer’s hometown.

B．A travel guide of the writer’s hometown .

C．The history of the writer’s hometown .

D．The scenery of the writer’s hometown .

【小题2】By the underlined part in paragraph 3, the writer wants to show that the town is           .

A．beautiful

B．small

C．exciting

D．faraway

【小题3】What can you find in the writer’s hometown ?
a bank     b. a post office     c. some gas stations and bars     d. a clothing store
e. a shoe shop    f. some restaurants and a hospital

A．abce

B．bdef

C．abcf

D．cdef

【小题4】What do we know about the classes given at the schools in the writer’s hometown ?

A．The classes are usually very short .

B．Students usually don’t get much attention .

C．One teacher has to teach many classes

D．Each class has just a small number of students .

【小题5】We can learn from the last paragraph that in the writer’s hometown             .

A．not many job opportunities are provided

B．employees don’t make much money

C．most people live a very hard life

D．only the old still live there

I would like to talk to you about one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen. I was born and raised there and now I visit it from time to time. My family moved to the city, so I only go back to see friends or to camp and fish.

I grew up in a small town called Antonito Co. It is surrounded by mountains. So camping is a big source of happiness in the valley. There are so many beautiful places to hike.

The town itself is very small. It is said that if you blink when you’re going through it, you’ll miss it. This has some truth in it considering the size of the town. We have one grocery store, a tiny post office, and a tiny bank. There are also a few gas stations, bars, some excellent restaurants, a small hospital and of course several schools. However, for clothing and shoes, you have to drive thirty miles to Alamosa to shop there.

Everyone in the town is nice and we all know each other. The crime rate is zero unless you count some weekend fights that break out because some people drink too much. The classes in school are small, so you get a lot of attention from the teacher.

You’re probably wondering why I don’t live there. Well, I can’t get a job there. A lot of the businesses are family-owned. And they never fire their employees. So the employees work there usually until they retire. Most people have to go to other places to get a job .

1.What is this passage mainly about?

A. An introduction to the writer’s hometown.

B. A travel guide of the writer’s hometown .

C. The history of the writer’s hometown .

D. The scenery of the writer’s hometown .

2.By the underlined part in paragraph 3, the writer wants to show that the town is            .

A. beautiful               B. small              C. exciting              D. faraway

3.What can you find in the writer’s hometown ?

a bank     b. a post office     c. some gas stations and bars     d. a clothing store

e. a shoe shop    f. some restaurants and a hospital

A. abce               B. bdef               C. abcf              D. cdef

4.What do we know about the classes given at the schools in the writer’s hometown ?

A. The classes are usually very short .

B. Students usually don’t get much attention .

C. One teacher has to teach many classes

D. Each class has just a small number of students .

5.We can learn from the last paragraph that in the writer’s hometown              .

A. not many job opportunities are provided

B. employees don’t make much money

C. most people live a very hard life

D. only the old still live there

 

This recently-released documentary(纪录片)had some fantastic footage(镜头) in it, and a very personal look at many of the astronauts who went to the moon. Overall, that is a very exclusive(独特的) club; only about a dozen men ever did it in the history of the world and just eight or nine ever stepped foot on it. Most of them are still alive and they discuss their adventures, insights and personal feelings here.

One gets the feeling that the rest of us will never know exactly how beautiful the moon is except to take the astronauts’s words about it, because even the pictures on this DVD can’t convey that.

Since this documentary is about 100 minutes long, you get a lot of information. You also get reminded how close two of the three men who went up on that historic first walk on the moon almost didn’t get home alive.

An absence in this documentary is the most famous astronaut of them all: Neil Armstrong, the first man to step foot on the moon! Apparently, he did not want to be part of this film. One of the astronauts mentions something briefly about Armstrong being somewhat of a “recluse(隐居者)” now and it “being understandable with what he’s gone through”. From what I’ve read, a lot of people have tried to make money off him in shady ways and so now he’s withdrawn(退出) from the public spotlight.

This film, a legacy to the Apollo program and the brave men who ran it, should be in every schoolroom. It would make history more interesting to students.

1.What can we know from the passage?

A．One of the astronauts talks about how beautiful the moon is.

B．Two of the three men who went to the moon lost their lives.

C．The documentary would make more students interested in history.

D．The astronauts talk about their adventures, insights and excitement.

2.How many astronauts first flew to the moon?

A．1                B．2                C．3.               D．4

3.Why was Armstrong absent from the film?

A．Because he didn’t like to show in public.

B．Because he has been tired of astronaut’s life.

C．Because someone wanted to make money off him.

D．Because he thought what he did was nothing to mention.

4.What made Armstrong famous around the world?

A．That he came back safely to the earth alive.

B．That he became an astronaut.

C．That he first stepped on the moon.

D．That he walked on the moon for 100 minutes.