The plan: turn Mars into a blue world with streams and green fields, and then fill it with creatures (生物) from the earth. This idea may sound like something from a science fiction (科幻小说), but it is actually being taken seriously by many researchers.

　　This suggested future for the “red planet” will be the main topic for discussion at an international conference hosted by NASA (美国宇航局) this week. Leading researchers as well as science fiction writers will attend the event. It comes as NASA is preparing a multi?billion?dollar Mars research programme. “Turning Mars into a little earth has long been a topic in science fiction,”said Dr Michael Meyer, NASA’s senior scientist for astrobiology (太空生物学). “Now, with scientists exploring the reality, we can ask what are the real possibilities of changing Mars.”

  Most scientists agree that Mars could be turned into a little earth, although much time and money would be needed to achieve this goal.

　　But many experts are shocked by the idea. “We are destroying our own world at an unbelievable speed and now we are talking about ruining another planet,” said Paul Murdin, of the Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge, UK. Over the past months, scientists have become increasingly confident they will find Martian life forms. Europe and America’s robot explorers have found proof that water, mixed with soil, exists in large amounts on the planet.

  In addition, two different groups of scientists announced on March 28 that they had found signs of methane (甲烷) in the Martian atmosphere (大气). The gas is a waste product of living creatures and could be produced by microbes (微生物) living in the red planet’s soil.

　　But scientists such as Dr Lisa Pratt, a biologist at Indiana University, say that these microbes will be put in danger by the little earth project. “Before we have even discovered if there is life on Mars, we are talking about carrying out projects that would destroy all these native lifeforms, all the strange microbes that we hope to find buried in the soil,” said Dr Pratt. This view is shared by Monica Grady, a planetary scientist at the Natural History Museum, London. “We cannot risk starting a global experiment that would wipe out the precious information we are looking for.” she said， “This is just wrong.”

5. The passage is about________.

A. a plan turning Mars into a little earth

B. the necessity of changing Mars

C. Mars supporting life

D. finding water in the Mars

6. Which of the following is NOT the reason why some scientists are against the plan?

A. The project would wipe out all the native lifeforms on the Mars.

B. The project will cost too much money and work.

C. We would ruin Mars.

D. We are destroying our own world at an unbelievable speed. 

7. We can infer from the passage that________.

A. water is a crucial factor for life

B. the project will have little effect on the native lifeforms supposed to live on the Mars

C. Monica Grady is in favour of carrying out the little earth project

D. the idea turning Mars into a little earth is nothing but a science fiction

8. Which of the following supports the conclusion of microbes living in the Mars’s soil?

A. Scientists found liquid water in the Mars.

B. Scientists found signs of methane in the Martian atmosphere.

C. Scientists found a lot of good soil on the Mars.

D. Scientists found some creatures living on the Mars.

阅读理解

阅读下面短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A，B，C和D）中选出最佳选项。

　　Culture means any human behavior (表现) that is learned in human society. All of the meaningful parts of a culture are passed on to different generations (一代人) through tradition or social learning. From this viewpoint, all human groups have a culture. Culture exists in agricultural as well as industrialized societies.

　　Culture is necessary for the survival (存活) and existence of human beings as human beings. Practically everything humans know, think, value, feel and do is learned through taking part in a sociocultural system. This statement is well supported by some well-written cases. Here is one of the cases of children growing up apart from human society. In the province of Midnapore in India, the director of a children's home was told by local villagers that there were“ghosts(鬼)”in the forest. Upon looking into the case, the director found that two children, one about eight years old and the other about six years old, appeared to have been living with a pack of wolves in the forest. These children were the ghosts described by the local people. In his diary, the director described his first view of Kamala ( as the older child was named) and Amala (the name given to the younger child):

　　[Kamala was] a terrible-looking being…the head a big ball of something covering the shoulders…Close at its heels there came another terrible creature exactly like the first, but smaller in size. Their eyes were bright and sharp, unlike human eyes…[They were] very fond of raw (生的) meat and raw milk…Gradually, as they got stronger, they began going on all fours, and afterwards began to run on all fours…Just like squirrels.

　　Children learn human language in the same way they learn other kinds of human behavior—by taking part in a cultural community (团体). They learn a certain human language as well as certain kinds of human behavior through their membership in certain cultural community.

1．From the passage we can learn that ________.

[　　]

A．human beings can only develop human abilities if they are raised by their biological (生物学的) parents

B．Amala and Kamala were raised in a forest by ghosts

C．culture refers only to the high art and classical music of a particular society

D．human being will not grow up human unless they are raised by human beings in human culture

2．Who were the“ghosts”of the Midnapore forest seen by the local villagers?

[　　]

A．They were two children, Amala and Kamala, who ran on fours.

B．They were two young wolves, Amala and Kamala, whose eyes were bright and sharp.

C．They were two children, Amala and Kamala, who were growing up in a children's home.

D．They were two squirrels, Amala and Kamala, who ran on fours.

3．Which of the following do you think can be the best title of the passage?

[　　]

A．A Director's Diary

B．Culture and Language Learning

C．Culture and Human Behavior

D．Wolf-children

阅读理解

　　The question sat unanswered in the clear Montana air. Kathleen Englund always wanted to know who was her biological (生物学的) mother.

　　“I've always wanted to find her. It's always been a dream in my life. ”says Englund, 24, an athletic department administrator at the University of Montana. “I wanted to know what she looked like, why she did it, all the questions adopted(领养的) kids have. ”

　　For three years Englund searched the court records in Missoula, finding her original birth certificate (证) , finding the name of her mother, Gail Patterso, but no trace of finding her mother. She sent $ 100 to a woman in Great Falls who promised to track her down, but got no response and no repayment.

　　Then on May 14 , 1997 , four days after mother's day , she logged onto the Internet (因特网) . She found a mysterious woman in Helena who wouldn't give her name, but offered to look up records. Two hours later, the woman called back .

　　She had found Gail Patterson. Patterson had married, taken her husband's last name , been separated and now lived in Fort Benton .

　　“I can't even remember how I was feeling. Excited? Nervous? I mailed her a letter that day to say I wanted to meet her. ”Englund says. “Two weeks later, I got a phone call . It was her. ”

　　They met in June. Englund opened the door, felt like she was looking into a mirror and met her biological mother for the first time.

　　Since then, the two have seen each other a couple of times. They have struck up a friendship, and Englund has answered the troublesome question. “I have a part of me that feels whole again. ”she says.

1．Before Kathleen Englund found her biological mother, she ________.

[　　]

A．had been homeless for a long time

B．had been living with her father

C．had many unanswered questions

D．had searched for England for long

2．By the time Englund found her mother, her mother ________.

[　　]

A．had been married and separated

B．had suffered a lot from loneliness

C．had forgotten her own daughter

D．had searched for Englund a long time

3．When Englund saw her mother, she found that ________.

[　　]

A．her mother looked very similar to herself

B．her mother had changed greatly over the years

C．her mother was far from what she had imagined her to be

D．her mother was old and poor

4．It can be inferred from the passage that ________.

[　　]

A．mothers have the forever love for their children

B．the Internet is useful in finding information

C．Mother's Day has a great effect

D．adopted children live a difficult life

The plan：turn Mars into a blue world with streams and green fields ,and then fill it with creatures（生物）from the earth.?

This idea may sound like something from a science fiction（科幻小说）,but it is actually being taken seriously by many researchers .This suggested future for the “red planet” will be the main topic for discussion at an international conference hosted by NASA（美国宇航局）this week. Leading researchers as well as science fiction writers will attend the event .It comes as NASA is preparing a multibillion-dollar Mars research programme.?

“Turning Mars into a little earth has long been a topic in science fiction,” said Dr Michael Meyer, NASA's senior scientist for astrobiology（太空生物学）.“Now ,with scientists exploring the reality ,we can ask what the real possibilities of changing Mars are.”?

Most scientists agree that Mars could be turned into a little earth ,although much time and money would be needed to achieve this goal.?

“We are destroying our own world at an unbelievable speed and now we are talking about ruining another planet,”said Paul Morin ,of the Institute of Astronomy ,Cambridge ,UK.?

Over the past months ,scientists have become increasingly confident they will find Martian life forms .Europe and America's robot explorers have found proof that water ,mixed with soil ,exists in large amounts on the planet.

1.Those who agree to turn Mars into a little earth_______.?

A.are short of confidence

B.will gain the support of NASA?

C.realize their dream needs lots of time and money

D.are asking for advice on how to carry it out?

2.The author took Paul Morin as an example to show he_______.?

A.is for the idea of exploring Mars

B.is active in saving the earth?

C.is against the idea of turning Mars into a little earth

D.cares about environmental protection　　　　　　　

3.Science fiction writers will attend the international conference to be held by NASA to_______.?

A.inspire their interests

B.set more details for them to write with?

C.join in the discussion

D.collect money for Mars research programme

4.Turning Mars into a little earth_______.?

A.is no longer a topic of science fiction stories

B.is now under way?

C.is a project whose possibility is being explored

D.is against human interests