A black hole is created when a large star burns out. Like our sun, stars are unbelievably hot furnaces (熔炉) that burn their own matter as fuel. When most of the fuel is used up, the star begins to die.
The death of a star is not a quiet event. First, there is a huge explosion. As its outer layer is blasted off into space, the dying star shines as brightly as a billion suns.
After the explosion, gravity pulls in what’s left of the star. As the outside of the star sinks toward the center, the star gets smaller and smaller. The material the star is made of becomes tightly packed together. A star is so dense that a teaspoon of matter from it weighs billion of pounds.
The more the star shrinks, the stronger the gravity inside it becomes. Soon the star is very tiny, and the gravity pulling it in is unbelievably strong. In fact, the gravity is so strong that it even pulls light into the star! Since all the light is pulled in, none can flee. The star becomes black when there is no light. Then a black hole is born!
That’s what we know about black holes. What we don’t know is this: What happens inside a black hole after the star has been squeezed into a tiny ball? Does it keep getting smaller and smaller forever? Such a possibility is hard to imagine.
But if the black hole doesn’t keep shrinking, what happens to it? Some scientists think black holes are like doorways to another world. They say that as the star disappears from our universe, it goes into another universe. In other words, a black hole in our universe could turn into a “white hole” in a different universe. As the black hole swallows light, the white hole shines brightly — somewhere else. But where? A different place, perhaps, or a different time — many years in the past or future.
Could you travel through a black hole? Right now, no. Nothing we know of could go into a black hole without being crushed. So far the time being, black holes must remain a mystery.
Black holes are a mystery — but that hasn’t stopped scientists from dreaming about them. One scientist suggested that in the future we might make sure of the power of black holes. They would supply all of Earth’s energy needs, with plenty to spare. Another scientist wondered if a black hole could someday be used to swallow earthly waste — a sort of huge waste disposal in the sky!
1. What do we know about stars in the universe?| A．When a star begins to die, there’s no fuel left in it. |
| B．After the explosion, a star gets as small as a teaspoon. |
| C．A star explodes when it dies and then becomes smaller and smaller. |
| D．A star gets smaller and smaller because the outer layer of a star sinks toward the center. |
| A．The dying star shines very brightly. | B．The light can’t go out of the star. |
| C．The gravity inside the star is very strong. | D．The star becomes very tiny and dense. |
| A．A star will blast and die when it lacks fuel to support its burning. |
| B．Man can never travel through a black hole but can make use of its power. |
| C．A black hole can swallow everything because it becomes smaller all the time. |
| D．Scientists have found that a black hole goes into another universe and becomes a white hole. |
| A．A New Scientific Discovery: Black Holes | B．How Do Black Holes Come into Being? |
| C．What Are Black Holes? | D．Travel Through A Black Hole |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】If you live on this planet, there’s a decent chance you’ve seen the classic Star TrekEpisode, in which captain Kirk and several members find themselves in what appears to be another universe.
These days, it seems the idea of the multiverse—many worlds—is having its Hollywood moment. Its appeal as a storytelling device is obvious—characters explore a multi-world with varying degrees of similarity to our own, as well as different versions of themselves. Hence, it has been fully established in mainstream pop culture.
While Hollywood can’t seem to get enough of the multiverse, it remains deeply controversial (有争议的) among scientists. Advocates on the two sides show no mercy toward each other in their books, on their blogs. But physicists didn’t pull the idea out of thin air—rather, several distinct lines of reasoning seem to point to the multiverse’s existence. However, critics warn that making the multiverse legal could make it harder for the public to distinguish speculative (推测性的) theories from established fact, making it more difficult to keep pseudo-science (伪科学) at bay. Giving credit to such speculation risks “turning fundamental physics into pseudo-science”.
The multiverse controversy is rooted in the idea of test ability. If we can’t interact with these other universes, or detect them in any way, some experts insist that reduces them to mere philosophical speculation. But Carroll, an advocate for “many worlds”, argues that mathematics is the language describing our physical theories. Since Schrdinger’s equation (方程), on which Quanturr (量子) mechanic rests, predicts the existence of many worlds, so be it.
Could a more expansive view of the universe itself be the next breakthrough? As Siegfried puts it: “Every time in the past that we’ve thought, ‘We’ve got it; this is what the whole universe is’—the people who’ve said, ‘Maybe there’s more than one of those’ have always turned out to be right.”
1. Why is Hollywood so occupied with the multiverse?| A．It makes for engaging plots. |
| B．It is a much-talked-about topic. |
| C．It is helpful to popularize science. |
| D．It dominates the mainstream pop culture. |
| A．Out of date. | B．Out of place. | C．Out of nowhere. | D．Out of question. |
| A．it can be detected somehow |
| B．it can be reasoned logically |
| C．it can be interpreted philosophically |
| D．it can be predicted by mathematics equation |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Dismissive. | C．Unclear. | D．Approving. |
【推荐2】A radio signal detected by an Australian telescope in 2019, which seemed to be coming from the star closest to the Sun, was not from aliens, researchers report today in two papers in Nature Astronomy.
“It is human-made radio interference (干扰) from some technology, probably on the surface of the Earth,” says Sofia Sheikh, an astronomer at the University of Berkeley. But the signal, detected by Breakthrough Listen — an organization in search of aliens — looked interesting enough at first that it sent astronomers on a nearly year-long research to understand its origins.
“It’s really valuable for us to have these experiences,” says Jason Wright, the leader astronomer of the organization. “We need these signals so we can learn how we will deal with them — how to prove they are alien or human-made.”
Since 2016, Breakthrough Listen has used telescopes around the world to listen for possible broadcasts from alien civilizations. The program has picked up millions of signals of unknown origin, nearly all of which could be classified as coming from radio interference on Earth, from sources such as mobile-phone towers or aircraft radar.
The 2019 signal was different. It was detected by the radio telescope in southeastern Australia and came from the direction of Proxima Centauri — the nearest star to the Sun. Proxima Centauri is of great interest to alien researchers not just because it is nearby. The star has at least two planets, one of which orbits at the right distance for liquid water to be on its surface. Breakthrough Listen even plans to send a tiny spacecraft to this planet in the future to look for life there.
In November 2020, and in January and April this year, the researchers pointed telescope at Proxima Centauri to see if they could pick up the signal again. They could not. Instead, the team spotted other “look alike signals”. These signals had been proved out by the team’s analysis as being earthly interference. Further analysis showed that these signals were all interference from an unknown source, maybe electronic equipment that got shut down or fixed
The Universe gives us a “haystack (干草堆)”, says Sofia Sheikh. “It is our need to find the needle in it, and make sure that it is actually a needle that we found.”
1. Who devoted much efforts to the research of the 2019 signal?| A．Some scientists in southeastern Australia. |
| B．An astronomer at the University of Berkeley |
| C．The leader astronomer of Nature Astronomy. |
| D．An alien research organization Breakthrough Listen. |
| A．They sent a spacecraft to Proxima Centauri. |
| B．They confirmed the origin of similar signals. |
| C．They got signals from the same direction again. |
| D．They found some dead electronic equipment. |
| A．It's very hard to direct an alien signal. |
| B．There are too many unknown signals. |
| C．There are very few needles in universe. |
| D．They should give up the research of aliens. |
| A．Alien research moved a step forward |
| B．Signals from aliens were picked up |
| C．Signals interfered Astronomy research |
| D．Mysterious alien beacon was false alarm |
【推荐3】A study confirmed that the cracks found on Mars’s surface last year by the Curiosity Rover are evidence of ancient lakes that likely dried up about 3.5 billion years ago. The new study provides further evidence of what the climate on the Red Planet may have been like in its ancient past.
The study, published online in Geology, proved that cracks on Mars’s surface previously photographed by Curiosity are dry mud cracks which could have only been formed when wet ground was exposed to the air. This conclusion was based on an analysis of a single area of rock known as “Old Soaker.”
Researchers used the Curiosity rover and information from its many tools including the Mars Hand Lens Imager, ChemCam Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectrometer (LIBS) and the Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) to study both the physical appearance and the chemistry of the rock, which is described as no bigger than a coffee table.
The analysis showed that cracks on the rocks were formed by exposure to air, rather than heat or the flow of water. In addition, the shape of the cracks suggests it experienced a single drying event on the planet, rather than getting wet and drying over repeatedly. The position of the cracks, closer to the center of the ancient lake rather than alongside it, also suggests that the lake levels changed often, rising and falling over time.
“The mud cracks are exciting because they help us to understand this ancient lake system,” lead study author Nathaniel Stein, a geologist at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, said, referring to the ancient lake system on the planet.
Scientists have known of the existence of ancient water on Mars for years. A 2015 NASA study that measured water in Mars’s atmosphere suggested that ancient oceans may once have had more water than our own Arctic Ocean. However, because the planet has less gravity and a thinner atmosphere than Earth, this water evaporated(蒸发) into space over the course of several billion years.
1. What is the Curiosity Rover?| A．An organization. | B．A scientist. |
| C．A planet. | D．A machine. |
| A．The cracks are near the center of an ancient lake. |
| B．Mars was getting wet and drying more than once. |
| C．The lake level on Mars seldom changes over time. |
| D．The cracks on the rocks were formed by water flow. |
| A．Ancient water still exists on Mars now. |
| B．The gravity on Mars is stronger than that on Earth. |
| C．The atmosphere on Earth is thicker than that on Mars. |
| D．The ancient Arctic Ocean had more water than it has now. |
| A．Water on Mars. | B．A trip to Mars. |
| C．A study on Mars. | D．Cracks on Mars. |
【推荐1】Teachers say that the digital age has had a good influence and a not-so-good influence on American teenagers. More than 2,000 middle school teachers took an online survey. Researchers also spoke with teachers in some groups. Most teachers think the Internet and digital search tools have had a mostly positive (积极的) influence on their students’ research habits and skills. But at the same time, some teachers also point out some problems in teenagers’ using digital search tools.
The Pew Internet Project did the survey with the College Board and the National Writing Project. Judy Buchanan is the director of the National Writing Project and a co-writer of the report. She says digital search tools are helping students learn more, and learn faster. “Both teachers and students really welcome these tools because they make learning exciting. And the goal（目的）is to really help students become creators of something meaningful, and not just users of the online information.”
But one problem the survey found is that these technologies make teenagers have short attention spans (持续时间). As there is lots of information about different subjects on the Internet, teenagers’ attention is easily drawn away from their research.
Another problem the survey found is that many students trust the information they find on the Internet too much. Judy Buchanan says these students have not developed the skills to judge (判断) the online information. They need to learn a lot to tell if the information is believable. It’s something that really has to be paid attention to.
One more problem the survey found is something that might not seem like a problem at all: being able to quickly find information online. Many students think “doing research” now means just doing a quick search on Google. Teachers say the result is a drop in the wish and ability of their students to work hard to find answers. That is, they are depending too much on search engines and do not make enough use of printed books or research librarians.
Many teachers also say that the Internet makes it easy for students to copy work done by others instead of using their own abilities.
1. The result of the survey shows ________.| A．digital search tools need to be greatly improved |
| B．digital search tools are generally good for teenagers |
| C．teenagers have difficulty in using digital search tools |
| D．American teachers enjoy using digital search tools |
| A．less trusting of online information |
| B．more independent in doing research |
| C．more willing to work hard to find answers |
| D．less able to pay full attention while searching |
| A．spend more time searching online |
| B．ask their teachers for more advice |
| C．make better use of printed materials |
| D．learn more knowledge of search tools |
| A．all the students like using digital tools |
| B．the Internet is playing an important role |
| C．teachers encourage their students to use digital tools |
| D．digital tools bring about something helpful and problems |
【推荐2】Most forest fires are caused by human carelessness or ignorance. Forest fire prevention, therefore, is mainly a problem of creating better understanding of the importance of forests, an awareness of the danger of fire in the woods, and a sense of personal responsibility to safeguard the forests from danger. This is not an easy job.
Careless smokers are responsible for thousands of forest fires each year. Many of these are started when cigarette butts (烟蒂) and matches are thrown from automobiles. Others are caused by hunters, hikers, fishermen, or woods workers who are careless in disposing (处理) of their smoking materials. The Forest Service has posted rules in many of the National Forests that ban smoking except in certain designated (指示) areas. Many of the states have laws against throwing lighted materials from automobiles. The prevention of smoker-caused fires, however, depends upon changing the attitudes and behavior of millions of people who smoke in dangerous area.
The most important natural cause of fire is lightning. This accounts for 11 per cent of forest fires on protected land for the entire nation. In the Western States, lightning causes a much higher percentage of fires than it does in the East.
Advances in knowledge of fire weather are helping forest protection forces to know when to be alert to lightning-caused fires. Adequate and well-equipped forces can control them quickly and hold the damage to a minimum. Experiments in “seeding” thunder clouds to prevent or control the lightning itself have been in process for many years, but new breakthroughs are needed for any significant reduction in the fires lightning starts.
1. This passage is chiefly about ________.| A．smoking in forests | B．changing the attitudes and behavior of millions of people |
| C．the chief causes of forest fires and their prevention | D．advances in knowledge of fire weather |
| A．building the proper knowledge and habits in human beings | B．safeguarding the forests from fire |
| C．posting rules in forests | D．holding the damage to a minimum |
| A．holding the fire damage to a minimum |
| B．people who have changed their attitude and behavior |
| C．enough fire fighters with good fire-fighting devices |
| D．carrying out experiments in “seeding” thunder clouds |
| A．aware of | B．watchful for | C．responsible for | D．busy with |
| A．It is difficult to prevent forest fires. |
| B．Smoking is allowed only in certain forests. |
| C．11% of the forest fires in the Western States are caused by lightning. |
| D．Experiments in “seeding” thunder clouds have helped reduce lightning-caused forest fires. |
【推荐3】The conductor on the podium (指挥台) has no baton (指挥棒), no tailcoat and no musical score, but Android Alter 3 is kicking up a storm as it guides a symphony orchestra's players through their paces.
The robot has a humanoid face, hands and lower arms, which gesture with what could pass for passion as it bounces up and down and rotates during the live performance of Keiichiro Shibuya's opera Scary Beauty in the Emirate of Sharjah.
Video from the recent performance in the Emirate of Sharjah showed the machine turning to face orchestra members and waving its arms. Alter 3 even sang at times.
Shibuya said the involvement of robots in the everyday lives of humans is continually increasing. But, he said he thinks people will need to decide in the future how artificial intelligence can best improve the human experience.
Shibuya added that he believes humans and robots can learn to work together to create beautiful art. "This work is a metaphor of that relations between humans and technology," he said. Shibuya noted that sometimes the music-leading robot can "get crazy", making it difficult for the musicians to keep up. But other times, the humans and machines cooperate very well.
Shibuya said the robots and AI that exist today are "far from complete". He is interested in studying how such incomplete technology can be combined with art.
“I think this is a very exciting idea…We came to see what it looks like and how much is possible,” said Anna Kovacevic. Another audience member, who gave his name only as Billum, said after the show, “You know, a human conductor is so much better.” Although he said he is interested in AI and looks forward to big developments, he concluded on the project: “The human touch is lost.”
1. What can we infer from the last paragraph?| A．The performance drew mixed reactions. |
| B．Billum took no interest in the performance. |
| C．The audience were fascinated by the performance. |
| D．The audience thought Alter 3 would have a bright future. |
| A．Positive | B．Negative. | C．Objective. | D．Critical. |
| A．Robot Cooperates with Humans |
| B．Robot Conducts Human Orchestra |
| C．The Significance of Robots in Art |
| D．The Relations Between AI and Humans |
【推荐1】Why can’t some people even get an inch of what they dream of becoming? Blame it on pure dreaming and lack of surrounding goals for achieving their dreams.
Setting goals is very significant part of accomplishing and positive actions. It is like scaling (攀爬) a 200 feet construction and marking in the early hours on what feet you would like to reach at this specific period.
People who set goals literally generate a map of their goal settings in life, marking where they should start, where to pause, where to study a bit, and where and when to end. Once this map comes into being, it allows the map drawer to check where he is in the scheme (安排) of things and whether or not he is making some planning that will take him closer to his goals.
By surrounding goals, people will know how they are doing and what they should be doing to get their goals or dreams in life. They will know if they can relax or if they have to double their efforts when they are falling short of what is expected of them.
Goal surroundings means a person isproactivein dealing with challenges that may affect his plans. Being proactive means one is able to outline possible difficulties that may occur as well as the solutions to these difficulties. By doing this, a person is not easily scared or defeated when challenges occur because he has already prepared for them. He knows they can happen and he has prepared a solution or strategy when that time comes.
Setting goals will enable people to track their progress in whatever hard work they set out to do. It will help people become more confident in themselves and more motivated to get their plans.
1. The purpose of this passage is to ________.| A．explain the difference between the two goals |
| B．show the importance of surrounding goals |
| C．tell us how to set and achieve one’s goals |
| D．tell us setting goals makes one confident |
| A．positive | B．careful |
| C．brave | D．prepared |
| A．achievements come to those who are well prepared |
| B．everyone faces the situation which is scaring or threatening |
| C．the higher one sets his goal, the more achievements he will have |
| D．success never comes to people who always blame |
【推荐2】You've probably heard that brick — and — mortar retail(实体零售)is in trouble. Even industry giants are closing hundreds of stores. Given retail's gradual change to mobile and e-commerce, you may be wondering. What will retail look like in the future? Nobody knows. But here are a few things you can expect to see based on current technology.
Ultrafast delivery is coming. Today, the normal practice is two — day delivery. But if you've been paying attention, you know that's changing. In fact, a surprisingly high 25% of consumers said that they would abandon their orders if one — day delivery wasn't available. Of course, that's just the beginning. Two-hour delivery is coming in the foreseeable future, and Amazon has already been trying 30-minute delivery.
Your kitchen will resupply itself. You won't have to worry about running out of essentials like coffee, pet food or snacks because your containers will sense stock levels and replace those items without you having to lift a finger. No more waking up to find your coffee store is empty or last-minute trips to the grocery store because you forgot to buy pet food.
Know exactly what's in stock and where. Have you ever gone to a store hoping to buy something, only to learn that they were out of stock? A new feature from Google Home allows people to ask Google Assistant to find in-stock products at the closest store. For example: "Google, where can I find the Nintendo Switch console?" An assistant will tell you how many stores have it right then and how close they are. Of course, it isn't currently available for all stores in all locations, but you can already see a future when it has become standard.
Convenience, experience, and options——retail will take on a new look.
1. How does the author develop the passage?| A．By asking and answering. |
| B．By arguing and debating. |
| C．By analyzing and commenting. |
| D．By comparing and concluding. |
| A．Consumers can't get their orders in one day now. |
| B．It is possible to deliver goods within two hours in the future. |
| C．The delivery will be in two days in the future. |
| D．Superfast delivery has widely been used now. |
| A．Retail will disappear gradually. |
| B．Industrial giants will rule the whole retail trade. |
| C．Shopping will be more convenient and effective. |
| D．People will ask Google Assistant to purchase goods. |
| A．What will retail be like in the future? |
| B．How will new technology change the world? |
| C．How will we run the retail trade in the future? |
| D．What benefits will high-tech bring in the future? |
【推荐3】What kind of amusing activities will you participate in during your life? Will you be spending your free time doing safe sports with little danger or will you always be one of the first people to try the next popular extreme activity? Scientists have been interested in finding out why some people seem to prefer dangerous activities.
Although there are exceptions, researchers have found that in most cases men are less cautious than women. Men often try to impress women by proving that they are courageous and fearless, and they are more likely to take risks when women are watching them or when they are competing against other men.
Research also shows that as people get older they usually behave more responsibly and avoid taking unnecessary risks. In addition, when people are in stable relationships, they seem to be less attracted to daring activities.
Some people seem to be more daring than others, but there are many different types of risks and some people take one type of risk, but not another Psychologists have identified a number of categories of risk. These include financial risks, risks related to health and safety, amusing risks and social risks. Psychologists discover that some people will take risks in one area, but not in another. Just if a person enjoys bungee (蹦极) jumping, it doesn't mean he or she will take chances when investing (投资) money or that he will tell a joke to a group of strangers.
Interestingly, research shows that women take more social risks than men. They are more likely to make career changes as they get older and to express unpopular opinions in business meetings.
Yet, at the end of the day, the likelihood of particular people taking a risk depends on their personalities. In general, optimistic people are more likely to take risks because they focus on the possible positive outcomes of their actions. On the other hand, those with opposite personality are much more likely to avoid taking a chance.
1. What have researchers discovered about women?| A．They are always changing jobs. | B．They are good at doing business. |
| C．They are more willing to take risks. | D．They are more conservative than men. |
| A．To attract women to watch them. | B．To have favorable effects on women. |
| C．To announce risks are too dangerous. | D．To show their strength to the competitor. |
| A．The potential consequences. | B．Their characters. |
| C．Their problems of finance. | D．The focuses of their work. |
| A．People's sense of taking risks. | B．Risks at people's different ages. |
| C．Different types of people's risks. | D．Risks between men and women. |
【推荐1】When people learn to play video games, they are learning a new literacy. Of course, this is not the way the word “literacy” is normally used. Traditionally, people think of literacy as the ability to read and write. Why, then, should we think of literacy more broadly?
Nowadays, language is not the only important communication system. Images, graphs, diagrams and many other visual symbols are particularly significant. Thus, the idea of different types of “visual literacy” would seem to be an important one. For example, being able to read the images in advertising is one type of visual literacy.
Furthermore, very often today words and images of various sorts are juxtaposed in a variety of ways. In newspapers and magazines as well as in textbooks, images take up more and more of the space alongside words. In fact, in many modern high school and college textbooks, images not only take up more space, they now carry meanings that are independent of the words in the text. If you can’t read these images, you will not be able to understand their meanings from the words in the text as was more usual in the past.
Now there are different ways to read different types of texts. Literacy is multiple, then, in the sense that the legal literacy needed for reading law books is not the same as the literacy needed for reading physics texts or cartoon books. And we should not be too quick to dismiss the latter form of literacy. Many cartoon books are full of images that would make a modern literary critic’s heart beat fast and confuse any otherwise normal adult.
Once we see this multiplicity of literacy, we realize that when we think about reading and writing, we have to think beyond print. Reading and writing in any field, whether it is law, rap songs, academic essays or cartoon books, are not the only ways of decoding(解密) print. Video games are a new form of art. They will not replace books; they will sit beside them, interact with them, and change them and their role in society in various ways, as, indeed, they are already doing strongly with movies. We have no idea yet how people “read” video games, what meanings they make from them. Still less do we know how they will “read” them in the future.
1. What is the broad meaning of literacy?| A．The ability to read, write and view. |
| B．The ability to read, listen and play. |
| C．The ability to speak, write and think. |
| D．The ability to listen, speak and think. |
| A．Put together. | B．Pulled out. |
| C．Taken away. | D．Replaced with. |
| A．Proud. | B．Upset. |
| C．Grateful. | D．Curious. |
| A．are too violent to risk experimenting with for the purposes of understanding literacy |
| B．are unrealistic and should not fall into the same categories as the other texts he describes |
| C．are not yet entirely understood in terms of literacy, but are already impacting other forms of expression such as filmmaking |
| D．are irrelevant in academic discussion because no one has yet determined how to explain the ways that people understand them |
| A．A historical explanation of the very first video game and its evolution. |
| B．A technological definition of video games, how they are made, and how they are played. |
| C．Examples of the way that some people currently interpret video games and what they mean to them. |
| D．A price comparison of video game consoles and whether or not quality has a direct impact on literacy. |
| A．Education. | B．Health. |
| C．Advertisement. | D．Traveling. |
【推荐2】One beautiful day, my good friends and I joined an experienced crew and sailed in the Caribbean. As boating beginners, my friends and I were in charge of spotting the light areas of the seafloor that signaled dangerous reefs (暗礁).Ocean reefs have the potential to destroy any sailboat that passes over them, so while the electronic depth sounder is a necessary tool, it is always helpful to find a reef ahead of time so that it can be more easily avoided.
One aspect of boating that was reserved for the experts was tacking, the sailing term for changing direction. All at once, a smooth sail could turn into complete pandemonium as the captain at the wheel began yelling directions to the first mate (大副), who quickly began struggling with the sails and rigging (索具). Generally, the wind continued to offer resistance. This made the first mate’s struggle more demanding and really frightening to the less experienced boaters on board. This mad yelling and tacking could go on for several minutes before all was right again and the boat settled into its new course. Once this had occurred, the captain and the first mate acknowledged each other with congratulatory smiles. We beginners, however, were still recovering from our terror and wondering to ourselves, “Was all that supposed to happen? And they think this is fun?”
As we headed back toward the shore, the unpredictable wind not only slowed but stopped, and soon the boat did too. After several minutes, the ship’s crew unwillingly turned on the motor. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t start and so we floated at sea, no land in sight, just waiting. It was late afternoon when I began to recognize the panic that was rising in my throat. Eventually, the ship’s captain got the engine running. The sails were up and the little motor moved along.
1. What were the author and his friends asked to do?| A．Watch passing sailboats. | B．Notice reefs in the ocean. |
| C．Get experience from the crew. | D．Use the electronic depth sounder. |
| A．Chaos. | B．Damage. | C．Devotion. | D．Blindness. |
| A．Confused. | B．Amused. | C．Scared. | D．Excited. |
| A．There was a fierce wind blowing. | B．The engine wouldn’t work. |
| C．The author’s throat hurt. | D．The crew lost their way. |
【推荐3】Flying High
Barrington Irving made his historic flight and founded an educational non-profit-making organization. His message for kids: “The only thing that separates you from scientists is determination, hard work and a strong liking for what you want to achieve.” The secret, he believes, is having a dream in the first place, and that starts with learning experiences that inspire kids to build careers.
The moment of inspiration for Irving came at the age of 15 in his parents’ bookstore. One customer, a professional pilot, asked Irving if he’d thought about becoming a pilot. “I told him I didn’t think I was smart enough; but the next day he took me to the cockpit(驾驶舱) of the commercial airplane he flew, and just like that I was hooked.”
To follow his dream, Irving turned down a football scholarship to the University of Florida. He washed airplanes to earn money for a flight school and increased his flying skills by practicing at home on a $40 flight simulator(模拟) video game. Then another dream took hold: flying alone around the world. He faced more than 50 rejections for sponsorship before convincing some companies to donate aircraft components. He took off with no weather radar, no de-icing system, and just $30 in his pocket. “I like to do things people say I can’t do.”
After 97 days, 26 stops and dozens of thunderstorms, he touched down to a cheering crowd in Miami. “It was seeing so many young people watching and listening that pushed me into giving back with my knowledge and experience.” Irving has been doing it ever since. He set up his non-profit-making organization, Experience Aviation(航空), aiming to increase the numbers of youth in aviation and science-related careers. Kids attend programmes dealing with hands-on robotics projects and flight simulator challenges.
“We want to create chances for students to accomplish something amazing,” he notes. Perhaps Irving’s most powerful educational tool is the example his own life provides. After landing his record-breaking flight at age 23, he said, “Everyone told me I was too young, that I didn’t have enough experience, strength, or knowledge. They told me it would take forever and I’d never come home. Well…guess what?”
1. According to Irving, what is the most important in achieving success?| A．Meeting people who provide unexpected help. |
| B．Getting a chance to study technical knowledge. |
| C．Having something specific that you want to accomplish. |
| D．Developing communication with different organizations. |
| A．He chose to reduce his budget as low as possible. |
| B．He was finally given enough money to keep going. |
| C．He got the most useful flying tips from his video game. |
| D．He took on a further challenge after he knew how to fly. |
| A．he hoped to become a public figure |
| B．he expected to start a business in other fields |
| C．he saw there was great interest in what he was doing |
| D．he thought he could teach more than flight schools could |
