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 at least 100 billion galaxies,” says Shostak. “And our galaxy, the Milky Way, has at least 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. These planets might have intelligent life.
Have beings from space already visited Earth? “Probably not,” says Shostak. However, intelligent beings may contact us in other way, 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．There were not any smaller planets. |
| B．The Milky Way didn’t exist at that time. |
| C．The astronomers were not interested in them. |
| D．There were not any powerful telescopes. |
| A．messages | B．tools | C．intelligent beings | D．radio signals |
| A．The Age and Size of Earth | B．Why Intelligent Life Might Exist |
| C．Our Galaxy: The Milky Way | D．Earth: The Only Planet with Intelligent Life |
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【推荐1】Many people are interested in finding out what will happen to them in the future. For thousands of years, some people have used horoscopes（星象）for this purpose. Today, a great number of people still regard horoscopes as a way to learn what will happen to them. Some believe that their star signs（星座）can also tell a lot about a person’s personality.
Each star sign has good and bad qualities. For example, the star sign of the people who are born in late October and early November is Scorpio（天蝎座）. These people may often argue with others because they usually stick to their own minds. On the other hand, Scorpios are usually very honest and good at keeping secrets, which makes them good friends. In some countries, people even check their lovers’ star signs before they decide to get married. It is said that some star signs match well, while some do not.
However, not everyone believes in horoscopes or star signs. Many people object, because they think that star signs can’t tell them everything about a person. After all, not everyone fits their star sign. We probably all know some Scorpios who are open-minded, no matter what their star sign says. Whether you believe in horoscopes or not is up to you. However, learn about it in your free time and you may discover something new about yourself!
1. What can we learn from Paragraph 1?| A．Horoscopes have been studied for a long time. |
| B．Horoscopes have been popular among all people. |
| C．Many people study horoscopes at an early age. |
| D．Horoscopes can tell a lot about a person’s personality exactly. |
| A．Only stay alone. |
| B．Tell their friends a lie. |
| C．Be kind and easy-going to everyone. |
| D．Not change their minds easily. |
| A．support | B．worry | C．disagree | D．promise |
| A．The History of Horoscopes |
| B．Another Way to Learn about Yourself |
| C．Interesting Facts about Star Signs |
| D．A Science That Studies the Past |
After spending years searching for a planet with life, scientists may have found one. In September 2010, a team of US scientists discovered an Earth-sized planet called Gliese 581g. It has a surface temperature neither too hot nor too cold for liquid（液态）water. Scientists think there is a chance that the planet could have life.The planet Gliese 581g goes around a star called Gliese 581, which is about 20 light-years from Earth. That is about 194 trillion（万亿）kilometres －500 million times farther away from us than the moon.
A spacecraft traveling at a one-tenth of the speed of light would reach Gliese 581g within about 220 years. A human can’t live that long, but robotic explorers could make the job easier. However, our fastest spacecraft don’t come anywhere near that one-tenth light-speed mark.
At present, scientists don’t know what the surface might be like on Gliese 581g. What they know is that the planet is at the sight distance from its star to have liquid water. It’s also at the right distance to have an atmosphere that could protect the water if it is on the surface.
Although spacecraft won’t be getting there anytime soon, one way to look for life on Gliese 581g is to turn our radio telescopes（望远镜）towards the planet and search for radiation（放射）. By studying the radiation, scientists would find out about the chemicals（化学物质）around the planet and discover it Gliese 581g has an atmosphere. If it has one, studying the atmosphere would give us a good idea if the planet has life or not. But it’ll probably be many years before we can do this properly.
People have been arguing about whether there is alien life on Gliese 581g. Any discussion about alien life is just guessing at this point, according to its discoverers.
1. What did scientists find in September 2010?
| A．A planet with water. | B．A planet similar to the earth. |
| C．A planet without life. | D．A planet near the earth. |
| A．is at the right distance from its star | B．moves around the earth |
| C．is as far away from us as the moon | D．can be reached in about 220 years |
| A．the possibility of living on Gliese 581g |
| B．the kinds of chemicals around Gliese 581g |
| C．the way of looking for life on Gliese 581g |
| D．the aim of studying the radiation on Gliese 581g |
| A．Gliese 581g, a Likely Living Planet | B．Gliese 581, a Likely Living Planet |
| C．Gliese 581g and Its Star | D．Gliese 581g and Radiation |
【推荐3】Like many other countries around the world, China hopes to explore the moon. It has already done so with several probes (探测器) and lunar rover (月球车). But it has even bigger plans to put a man on the moon in the near future.
Yang Liwei, China’s first man in space, said that it will “not take long” for a manned mission (任务) to get official agreement and money support, according to the Xinhua News Agency.
China’s space program is still young compared to those of the United States and Russia. But it has already made great achievements in exploring the moon. Its moon mission began with Chang’e 1, an unmanned orbital (轨道) probe that was sent up in October, 2007. It collected data that was used to create a 3-D map of the moon’s surface.
China achieved another achievement with the Chang’e 3 mission. For this mission, China’s first lunar rover, Yutu, successfully landed on the moon.
For China’s space program, it was another great achievement that Chang’e 4, the second lunar rover successfully landed on the moon’s far side, an area that has not yet been explored, in December, 2018.
China will follow Chang’e 4 with a series of other lunar mission. These missions will include taking lunar soil and rock samples, building “moon base”, and hopefully landing a human on the moon’s surface around 2030, according to Zhao Xiaojin, a senior official at the China Academy of Space Technology.
Last year, when Yang Liwei was asked if he had any plans to visit the moon himself, he replied, “If I am given the chance, no problem!” It is likely that many other Chinese share Yang’s excitement about this new stage of China’s space exploration efforts.
1. Which of the following countries may be better than China in space program?| A．Russia. | B．The UK. | C．Canada. |
| A．the first lunar rover and landed on the moon |
| B．the second lunar rover and landed the moon’s far side |
| C．an unmanned orbital probe and began the moon mission |
| A．is China’s first man on the moon |
| B．is worried about China’s future space program |
| C．believes it won’t take long to put a man on the moon for China |
| A．Hope for Future | B．China for Space | C．A Moon Base |
A. Keep the computer room clean. Don’t wear your dirty shoes into the computer room.
B. Keep quiet in the room. If you don’t, others will be angry with you.
C. It’s not right to bring anything to eat in the room. They will make the computer room dirty.
D. Don’t listen to music or watch videos in the computer room because they have nothing to do with your study.
E. Playing computer games is not allowed (允许) in the computer room. It’s the place for you to study but not to play.
【推荐2】Chinese people usually eat three meals (饭) a day.
In China, people usually have youtiao, baozi, bread, milk and tea fbr breakfast. The breakfast time in China is usually from 7:00 to 9:00. Most Chinese students have classes at 8:00, so their breakfast time is around 7:00.
Lunch time is usually at about 12:00. Most Chinese have a quick (快的) lunch, so they can have time to take a rest (休息). Their lunch is usually noodles or rice with some vegetables and meat. Most people usually eat at school or their workplace. And some take their lunch box from home.
Dinner is a relaxing meal for many Chinese, because they have it with their family. The food is usually soup, meat, vegetables, and rice. Dinner time is usually from 6:00 to 8:00, For restaurants (餐馆), the busy time is from 7:00 and 10:00. There is one interesting thing in China. People don’t leave (离开) the restaurant quickly. After dinner, they usually talk and play games with their family or friends.
1. Why do most Chinese students have breakfast at about 7:00 a. m. ?| A．They don’t like breakfast. | B．They have classes at 8:00 a. m. |
| C．They don’t have much time. | D．They want to eat much food. |
| A．To have a rest after lunch. | B．To play with friends. |
| C．To eat more rice and fruit. | D．To have dinner at home. |
| A．boring | B．small | C．relaxing | D．difficult |
| A．People have meat and vegetables for dinner |
| B．Many people have dinner in the restaurant |
| C．Restaurants are busy from 7 p. m. to 10 p. m. |
| D．People talk and play games after dinner in the restaurant |
| A．Sports. | B．Eating. | C．Art. | D．Family. |
【推荐3】Every day, it is easy to see advertisements in English all around us. Look at your own bags and clothes, and at the bags and clothes of your classmates. How many different advertisements can you see which use English words?
Often bags and clothes show the name of the company that made them. This is a popular form. A special picture or symbol called a logo(标识语) is sometimes used. Logos appear on many different products(产品). They are popular because when you see a logo, it is hard to forget that product or company.
It is common to see advertisements on TV and hear them on the radio. Most advertisements are very short. Sometimes the advertisers use a short sentence which is easy for people to say and remember. Nike, for example, has a simple English sentence which is used all around the world: “Just do it.” Advertisements often use funny situations as well. It is simple to remember it.
All advertisements are designed(设计) to make people buy a product. An advertisement for a soft drink, for example, might show a group of young people who are having fun. The young people are al1 drinking the soft drink. Advertisers are saying to you, “Why don’t you buy this drink and be like these people? You can be young and modern.”
You might think that advertisements are not after you, but the next time you buy a soft drink, ask yourself this question: Why am I buying this particular(特别的) product?
1. From the passage, we know that .| A．all the advertisements around us are written in English |
| B．many bags have the name of the company that made them |
| C．having soft drinks makes a person young and modern |
| D．advertisements are only after young people |
| A．easy to remember | B．a useful product |
| C．difficult to understand | D．easy to buy |
| A．in English | B．long | C．funny | D．famous |
| A．sell you something you don’t want |
| B．make you young and modern |
| C．make you buy the product |
| D．show you what you need to buy |
| A．Advertisements for Bags and Clothes |
| B．Advertisements on TV and Radio |
| C．Advertisements About Sports |
| D．Advertisements Around Us |
