Reading Comprehension(阅读理解)

A Festival for the Dead is held once a year in Japan．This festival is a cheerful occasion, for on that day, the dead are said to return to their homes and they are welcomed by the living．As they are expected to be hungry after their long journey, food is laid out for them．Specially-made lanterns are hung outside each house to help the dead to find their way．All night long, people dance and sing．In the early morning, the food that had been laid out for the dead will be thrown into a river or into the sea as it is considered unlucky for anyone living to eat it．In towns that are near the sea, the tiny lanterns which had been hung in the streets the night before, are placed into the water when the festival is over．Thousands of lanterns slowly drift out to sea guiding the dead on their return journey to the other world．This is a moving spectacle(景象；场面)，for crowds of people stand on the shore watching the lanterns drifting away until they can not be seen any more．

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Reading Comprehension

(阅读理解)

　　Houston, Texas(June 8,2002)－In 2004, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration(NASA)(美国航空航天局)will send two robots to separate places of Mars(火星)to seek(寻找)out past or present signs of water．It is an exciting idea to send two robots driving over very different places of Mars at the same time, to be able to see what is on the other side of the hill．

　　Last month, NASA announced it was sending one robot to Mars, but after two weeks, it decided there was enough money for two．The robots will be sent up within two weeks of each other in May and June of 2003 from Kennedy Space Center．If all goes well, the two spacecraft(宇宙飞船)will touch down on Mars, after a seve-and-a-half-month space flight, on January 2 and 20,2004．

　　The robots, each weighing 150 kilograms, can cover 100 meters per day．They are designed to be able to examine the mineral content(矿物质)of the soil, and their special camera will take pictures of the lands and hills．Although they will be under control from Earth, the robots, are able to move more freely compared to those sent up before them．

　　The actual landing points have not been determined yet, but the scientists say it will be in areas where they hope to find water．

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