1 . A Mission to Remove Space Junk
In video games and movies, we often imagine spaceships avoiding giant asteroids (小行星) in the solar system. However, a greater concern for our world is space debris. Space debris refers to the 8, 000 metric tons of junk that orbits around the Earth. These millions of pieces floating in space threaten to destroy satellites and machinery that are necessary for weather forecasting, GPS, and telecommunication.
Along with other efforts to minimize space debris, the company Astroscale has launched End-of-Life Service by Astroscale, or Elsa-D. It aims to model a space debris removal system and includes two spacecraft: a servicer and a client. Let’s look at the danger of space debris and how Astroscale’s technology would work.
What Really Is Space Debris?
Space debris forms when old satellite and spaceship parts gather in the low Earth orbit. This build-up of waste can range from large rocket parts all the way to small pieces of metal that form when the parts explode or hit.
Because all the pieces travel at high speeds of 28, 000 km/h in orbit, they pose a threat to active satellites. It is reported that at least 26, 000 pieces of space junk are as small as a softball, yet they could “destroy a satellite on impact.”
Over 500, 000 pieces of debris could damage protective systems, fuel tanks, and spacecraft cabins. More commonly, over 100 million pieces of space debris are as small as a grain of salt. These pieces are dangerous as they could break spacesuits and threaten the safety of the crew.
Scientists are able to track debris particles (微粒) larger than 10cm, but pieces near 1cm in size are vey difficult to monitor. As a result, the removal of space debris is essential to ensure that new satellites will not hit old ones. The European Space Agency reports that 3, 600 satellites are currently operating with 28, 000 pieces of debris being tracked. In the next decade, 10, 000 new satellites will orbit Earth. The need for an effective space debris removal system is growing.
Astroscale hopes to develop a system where the spacecraft attaches to dead satellites and direct them towards Earth to burn up in the atmosphere. The technology would be used on future satellites, not dead satellites that are already in orbit. The purpose of this specific mission is to show how the capture system will work. The client spacecraft will play a piece of space debris.
The servicer spacecraft will use GPS sensors and magnetic (磁对接) docking technology to capture the client spacecraft. Like a cat and mouse, the servicer will capture and release the client several times over 6 months and the tasks will become more difficult.
Astroscale hopes that all satellites being developed in the future will include the magnetic docking plate which allows the servicer to capture the debris. As companies and governments take on more space projects, a system to remove waste in space is going to be increasingly important.
1. What do we know about space waste?| A．Rocket bodies are the main source of space debris. |
| B．Space waste removal was fruitful in the past decades. |
| C．The pieces near 1cm in size can be watched and checked. |
| D．A piece of softball-sized space debris can destroy a satellite. |
| A．It aims to recycle the dead satellites. |
| B．It launched a spaceship carrying cats and mice. |
| C．It hopes to reduce the space projects. |
| D．It tries to get rid of the future dead satellites. |
| A．The New Technology | B．The Future Space Satellites |
| C．Where Does Space Junk Come? | D．Why Do We Remove Waste in Space? |
| A．It may cause troubles in space. | B．It has cleared some space waste. |
| C．It is challenging but worthwhile. | D．It will be put into use soon. |
Zhou Yang’s first job at a popular English newspaper was an assistant journalist.
Before he started to work, Hu Xin, his new boss, had a discussion with him. The talk was to
Zhou Yang knows that he can’t go out on a story until he is more
Hu Xin tells Zhou Yang that he’ll have a professional photographer, and it may be possible for him to concentrate on photography later and he’ll find his colleagues very eager
Zhou Yang asks Hu Xin if he has ever had a case
1. 职业 n.
2. 教授 n.
3. 欣赏，感激 v.
4. 有抱负的adj.
5. 说服 v.
6. 学术的 adj.
7. 要素 n.
8. 平均的 adj.
9. 分开的 adj.
10. 毁坏 v.
1. 热爱的 adj.
2. 极其地adv.
3. 偏爱 n.
4. 敏感的 adj.
5. 竞争者 n.
6. 追逐 v.
7. 约会 n.
8. 话题 n.
9. 动 力 n.
10. 伤 n.
Social networking
As an Olympic athlete, I push
1.剧情简介;
2.指导内容
3.表达感谢。注意:
1.词数不少于60.
2.开头与结尾已为你写好。提示词:script 剧本
Dear Miss Catherine,
How is it going? I am writing to ask you for help in regards to a short play adapted from our English textbook.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Looking forward to your reply!
Yours,
Li Hua
An Apology Is Just a Step Toward Becoming a Better Person
No matter how hard we try, we can’t avoid hurting those we love. People are discovering they can’t stand the way their partners chew, talk and brush the cat. Since we probably can’t predict when our behaviors will annoy others, we need to learn how to make apologies afterward. A good apology has three parts.
First, show regret about the influence of your past behavior. A sincere apology means that you admit your choices negatively affected others. It involves regret or guilt - sometimes for what you’ve done to the other person, not necessarily for your own action.
Second, take responsibility in the present. Refusing to accept responsibility is not a sign of strength. It’s a sign of narcissism(自恋). In many situations, we’re too busy finding fault in the other person’s actions instead of accepting our role in the problem. It doesn’t matter whose fault it is when something is broken if it’s your responsibility to fix it. Taking responsibility is a recognition of the power that you gain when you stop blaming people.
Third, describe how you plan to improve in the future. You can’t right your wrongs if you don’t explain how you’re going to fix or prevent the problem. Then we should follow through on our promise so that we can earn forgiveness
The three steps are relatively easy to try. The hard part is finding the power to apologize, because it means feeling guilty about having done a bad thing and maybe even some shame at the thought of being a bad person. Psychologists have discovered a good solution to that: When you’ve hurt someone, think about your key values. If sympathy, justice or generosity show up on your list, you might realize that apologizing doesn’t mean admitting you’re a bad person. It’s just a step toward becoming a better person.
1. What does a sincere apology mean according to the passage?2. What’s the difficult part in an apology according to the passage?
3. Please decide whether the following statement is true or false, then explain why according to the passage.
Apologizing usually means admitting you are a bad person.
4. Do you agree with the author’s opinion about how to make a good apology? Why or why not?(About 40 words)
9 . We’ve been told since we were children that “It’s good to share”. Parents and teachers keep reminding us to share toys and books. When we grow up, we share photos, life stories and opinions with people around us and with those we don’t know via social media. Psychologists believe that the behavior of sharing is beneficial to setting up positive emotional connection.
Today, the action of sharing takes on extra meaning. It has spread to almost every aspect of our lives. We are using technology to reduce the money that we spend on goods and services, or to make money out of those that we don’t use ourselves at all. These differ from car shares to home shares, and even to pet shares. The sharing economy is creating new ways of thinking and is providing services to people when and where they want them.
This popular ways of sharing is a response to our increasing demand for quality goods and services at competitive prices, all delivered at the click of a button. Whether we’re a lender or a borrower, it’s a win-win situation. What’s more, sharing encourages us to reuse items, thereby cutting down on waste. And set-ups such as bike and car sharing do a further favor for the environment by reducing the number of polluting vehicles on the road.
But the sharing economy is not without its problems. The sharing economy is developing faster than existing regulations and related laws are still on the way. Some companies are taking unfair advantage of this situation to expand their share of the market, often at the expense of more traditional companies. In addition, the sharing economy is subject to abuse of trust. Some people have experienced damage to their properties while renting out their homes, and others have found themselves victims of theft or attack while sharing rides. Finally, personal data is not yet safe. Sharing platforms collect personal information about almost every part of our lives.
Nonetheless, there is no doubt that the sharing economy is increasingly relevant to our daily lives as well as to the global economy. it is growing at such a rate that we can only imagine what it will be like in the future.
1. Paragraph 2 and 3 are mainly about the ________ of sharing economy.| A．definition | B．benefits | C．technology | D．development |
| A．rules | B．ideas | C．conditions | D．ways |
| A．lead to unfairness among strangers |
| B．cause distrust to traditional companies |
| C．bring about safety problems to users |
| D．limit the awareness of self-protection |
| A．Negative. | B．Doubtful. | C．Positive. | D．Unclear. |
10 . Some scientists have found that the long-term use of chemical pesticides (杀虫剂)and fertilizers(化肥)can harm both the land and people’s health.
Pesticides can damage the land by killing not only harmful insects, but also helpful ones. In addition, these chemicals can stay in the soil and underground water sources for a long time. This affects the crops grown on the land and, in turn, the animals and humans who eat them. As for fertilizers, crops grown with them usually grow too fast to be rich in nutrition(营养). They may look beautiful on the outside, but inside there is usually more water than necessary minerals, which makes them less tasty.
Therefore, some farmers have turned to organic farming, and many customers have turned to organic food when they shop at the local grocery. Organic farming is simply farming without using any chemicals. Organic farmers focus on keeping their soil rich and free of disease through natural means. For example, many organic farmers use natural waste from animals as fertilize. This makes the soil in their fields richer in minerals. It also keeps the air, soil, water, and crops free of chemicals.
Organic farmers also use many other methods to produce rich soil. They often change the kind of crop grown in each field every year. For instance, they may grow corn or wheat in a field one year, and then grow beans there the next. It can help to put important minerals back into the ground, making it ready for the next crops. Organic farmers also plant different crops that use different depths of soil to help keep it rich. For example, peanuts grow on the ground’s surface, but many other vegetables put down deep roots.
Nevertheless, organic farming is far from meeting the high demand for food around the world. It still has a long way to go to provide enough food while keeping people and the environment as healthy as possible.
1. From paragraph 2, we learn that fertilizers can________.| A．help kill insects | B．affect crops’ taste |
| C．stay in soil for long | D．make crops nutritious |
| A．needs less care | B．saves more water |
| C．uses less chemicals | D．adopts natural methods |
| A．listing numbers | B．providing reasons |
| C．giving examples | D．making comparisons |
| A．It will replace chemical farming. | B．It will increase production of crops. |
| C．It can meet people’s needs for food. | D．It needs more efforts to be developed. |
