Is there intelligent（有智力的）life on other planets? For years, scientists said “no,” or “we don’t know.” But today this is changing. Seth Shostak and Alexandra Barnett are astronomers（天文学家）. They believe intelligent life exists（存在）somewhere in the universe. They also think we will soon contact these beings（人；生物）.
Why do Shostak and Barnett think intelligent life exists on other planets? The first reason is time. Scientists believe the universe is about 12 billion years old. “This is long enough for other planets to have intelligent life,” say Shostak and Barnett. The second reason is size—the universe is huge. “Tools like the Hubble Telescope（哈勃望远镜）have shown that there are more than 100 billion galaxies,” says Shostak. “And our galaxy, the Milky Way, has more than 100 billion stars. Some planets going around these stars might be similar to Earth.”
In the past, it was hard to look for signs of intelligent life in the universe. But now, powerful telescopes（高倍望远镜）allow scientists to discover smaller planets—the size of Mars or Earth—in other solar systems. These planets might have intelligent life.
Have beings from space already visited Earth? “Probably not,” says Shostak. “It’s a long way away.However, intelligent beings may contact us in other ways, such as radio signals（信号）. In fact, they may be trying to communicate with us now, but we don’t have the right tools to receive their messages. However, this is changing. By 2025, we could make contact with other life forms in our universe and we might help each other.”
1. Seth Shostak and Alexandra Barnett are ________.| A．astronomers | B．farmers | C．singers | D．drivers |
| A．The Age and Size of Earth |
| B．Our Galaxy: The Milky Way |
| C．Why Intelligent Life Might Exist |
| D．Earth: The Only Planet with Intelligent Life |
| A．There were not any smaller planets. |
| B．There were not any powerful telescopes. |
| C．The astronomers were not interested in them. |
| D．The Milky Way didn’t exist at that time. |
| A．They’re afraid of us. | B．It’s a long way away. |
| C．They don’t want to see us. | D．They don’t know how to use radio signals. |
| A．Messages. | B．Tools. | C．Intelligent beings. | D．Radio signals. |
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【推荐1】Astronauts go on spacewalks for many reasons. Spacewalks let astronauts work outside their spaceship while still in space. Astronauts can do science experiments on a spacewalk. Experiments can be placed on the outside of a spaceship. This lets scientists learn how being in space influences different things. Spacewalks also let astronauts repair satellites or spaceship that are in space. By going on spacewalks, astronauts can fix things instead of bringing them back to Earth to fix.
When astronauts go on spacewalks, they wear spacesuits to keep themselves safe. Inside spacesuits, astronauts have the oxygen（氧气）they need to breathe. They have the water they need to drink.
Astronauts put on their spacesuits several hours before a spacewalk. They leave the spaceship through a special door called an airlock. The airlock has two doors. When astronauts get ready to go on a spacewalk, they go through the first door and lock it tight behind them. They can then open the second door without any air getting out of the spaceship. After the spacewalk, astronauts go back inside through the airlock.
When on a spacewalk, astronauts use safety tethers to stay close to their spaceship. One end is tied to the spacewalker. The other end is connected to the spaceship. The safety tethers keep astronauts from flying away into space.
1. What is one kind of important work that astronauts do during spacewalks?| A．Watching the earth from the space. | B．Wearing spacesuits to keep warm. |
| C．Making repairs to objects. | D．Doing tests on their bodies. |
①lock the first door tight ②put on their spacesuits
③go through the first door ④open the second door
| A．②④③① | B．①②③④ | C．②③①④ | D．③①②④ |
| A．绳；链 | B．工具 | C．措施 | D．头盔 |
| A．Astronauts wear spacesuits to breathe and move in space. |
| B．Astronauts need special machines to study other space. |
| C．Astronauts do important experiments in space. |
| D．Astronauts have special tools to stay safe and work in space. |
【推荐2】The Moon is attracting much attention these days as NASA is ready to send space rockets there and preparing for more to follow. The mission’s objectives are clear: to create a long-lasting base on its surface and prepare to go to Mars one day.
What’s the next great move in humans’ quest for the secrets of the universe? When it comes to the near future scientific research in space, there are a few areas in the solar system that will receive some special attention.
First of all, there’s Venus, a planet which was like a paradise to human with oceans and a pleasant atmosphere. However, something went terribly wrong there a few billion years ago, and NASA has scheduled a series of missions to explore what exactly is going on there.
At the other end of the solar system are the gas planets. Several of the satellites of Jupiter and Saturn are covered in thick sheets of ice, and underneath the ice are oceans of liquid water. NASA has missions planned to investigate those mysterious worlds, hunting for any sign of possible life hidden deep within.
As for us humans, Mars is certainly the grand prize in the coming decades. If we have enough money for the trips, we can perhaps keep astronauts working and studying on the surface of Mars for quite a long time. The other planets in our solar system are not so suitable for people to settle on. For example, Mercury is too close to the Sun and too far away from the Earth.
In the coming decades, humans expect to see a rise of “space hotels” set up for visiting tourists and scientific explorations. Because of our current level of technology, it is not very practical to turn the space rock into a place suitable for humans. But it may be the next easiest thing to achieve after going to the Moon and Mars.
1. Why does the author mention the Moon in the first paragraph?| A．To introduce the space station on the Moon. |
| B．To highlight the difficulty of going to the Moon. |
| C．To explain the relationship between the Moon and Mars. |
| D．To show the Moon’s important role in space exploration. |
| A．love | B．achievement | C．difficulty | D．exploration |
| A．To find new locations for space hotels. |
| B．To search for potential life and possible living places. |
| C．To compete with other countries in space exploration. |
| D．To prepare for the construction of a new space station. |
| A．Because Mars is three times bigger than the Earth. |
| B．Because it’s far from the Earth and close to the Sun. |
| C．Because people might be able to live and work there. |
| D．Because there are enough resources to help humans develop. |
| A．Surprised. | B．Positive. | C．Negative. | D．Indifferent. |
【推荐3】Look up at the sky on a clear night, you will probably see a lot of stars. Do you ever think about the light (光）from these stars?
First of all, when you see a star, in fact you are looking at the past(过去). Do you know why?
Secondly,
| A．Some stars are yellow. Some are white. |
| B．The most important reason has to do with their temperatures. |
| C．That’s because the stars are very far away from Earth. |
| D．There are many interesting things about the light from stars. |
| E．The light from the stars travels fast. |
| F．Look carefully at the stars in the sky. |
【推荐1】Today, China would like to make its voice heard, by telling true stories. “Story telling is the best way for international communication,” President Xi Jinping said. “We should tell stories about China well and spread China’s voice well.” Telling Chinese stories warms people’s hearts and brings the Chinese people and people of other countries closer. By listening to true stories of China, many people around the world get to know more about China.
First, a good Chinese story should be about the Chinese national spirit and Chinese cultural confidence (自信). Recently, the hot Chinese movie of The Battle (战役) at Lake Changjin has been popular with people around the world. The movies tells an amazing (惊人的) historical story: Seventy three years ago, the People’s Volunteer (志愿者) Army (PVA) entered North Korea for battle. Under very cold conditions, the soldiers (军人) on the Eastern Front bravely fought the enemy at Lake Changjin.
Although Chinese culture has continued for thousands of years, we should find a new way to tell Chinese stories. Li Ziqi, for example, has become famous on TikTok for her short videos. She has received tens of millions of likes on the Internet. She spread Chinese culture to the world by showing her daily life in the countryside.
Therefore, as a Chinese, learning how to tell a good Chinese story in English is very important. We should fully understand the Chinese culture and learn English well so that the world will have a better understanding of us.
1. How do people around the world get to know more about China?| A．By communicating with Chinese. | B．By reading books about China. |
| C．By listening to true stories of China. | D．By experiencing living in China. |
| A．It should tell people how to live well in China. |
| B．It should tell people how to communicate with Chinese. |
| C．It should be about how People’s Volunteer Army fought the enemy. |
| D．It should be about Chines national spirit and culture confidence. |
| A．By making movies about Chinese culture. | B．By showing her daily life in the countryside. |
| C．By sharing Chinese stories with short videos. | D．By talking about Chinese culture on the Internet. |
【推荐2】Do you think high school students should read classic works of literature?
Lilian: We lack understanding in life, so it’s likely that we may have difficulty understanding the deeper meanings under the surface of the classics. But this shouldn’t be a reason to give up reading classics, As Francis Bacon said, “Reading makes a full man; conference（谈话）a ready man; and writing an exact man.”
Harry: Classics are the treasures our ancestors left us. We have the duty to read them and pass them down through the generations. As the old Chinese saying goes,”One who is filled with knowledge always behaves with elegance（优雅）.”Famous books can cultivate（培养）students’ cultural literacy（素养）and arouse their interest in culture.
Linda: Without background and life experience, students can’t resonate（与……共鸣）with authors from previous eras. What’s more, partly due to the writers’ outdated ways of thinking, there might be some misunderstandings. While reading,some students mainly focus on words and expressions without carefully reflecting on them. For this reason, reading classics might be a waste of time.
Dale: For one thing, not all classics are suitable for all students, as there are many complex（复杂的）expressions and deep ideas.For another,some classics have unique writing styles, but they may be too difficult for students to understand. If students are asked to read these classics, they probably won’t be able to understand them.
1. What is the discussion mainly about?| A．How literary classics go out of style. |
| B．Whether high school students should read literary classics. |
| C．Why students should take part in reading competitions. |
| D．How high schools should help students develop cultural literacy. |
| A．They help students learn about duties. | B．They improve students’ grades. |
| C．They can change students’ personalities. | D．They develop students’ cultural literacy. |
| A．the authors lived in different countries |
| B．students prefer to read about life experiences |
| C．students might be too focused on words and expressions |
| D．most of the ideas in the classics are just misunderstandings of the world |
| A．Many classics are specially written for students. |
| B．It’s hard for students to understand some writers’ styles. |
| C．Students don’t have the ability to read literary works. |
| D．Some writers of classics were thinking in an old-fashioned way. |
What’s your favourite animal? For me, I love dolphins very much. When we think about dolphins, we think of kind, friendly and smiling animals. We might also think of many stories of dolphins saving people from water, or even the songs and stories about their wonderful skills. Then have you watched dolphin shows before? Watching dolphin shows in ocean parks is popular in some countries. People think the dolphins look lovely and friendly. But at the same time, we need to think about some terrible facts.
First, where are the dolphins from? Some ocean parks get the dolphins in a secret way. For example, they buy the dolphins at lower prices from fishermen. They catch, kill and sell the dolphins without following the government’s rules. Second, dolphins show more and more strange behavior because they get so bored with living in the small pools in the ocean parks. They may hurt their teeth by biting something. And they get sick easily because of their bleeding teeth.
It’s time for us to find out the truth behind the animal shows. If they belong to the ocean, how can they live happily and healthily in the ocean parks? Dolphins are our friends, so we should try our best to provide them with a comfortable place.
1. What are dolphins like according to this passage?①friendly ②lovely ③quiet ④ kind
| A．①②④ | B．①②③ | C．②③④ | D．①③④ |
| A．Workers in ocean parks. | B．Dolphin lovers. | C．Ocean parks. | D．Fishermen. |
| A．They feel bored. | B．They get sick. | C．They have no friends. | D．They are hungry. |
| A．Dolphins can live in peace in the ocean parks. |
| B．Dolphins sometimes save people from water. |
| C．There are dolphin shows in every ocean park. |
| D．Some ocean parks get dolphins from fishermen for free. |
| A．People should stop watching dolphin shows. |
| B．Farmers should buy dolphins with the government’s permission. |
| C．People should try to protect dolphins. |
| D．There are many good facts behind the dolphin shows. |
