New data from NASA's Curiosity rover indicate...

New data from NASA's Curiosity rover indicate Mars Crater once held an enormous lake. This discovery suggests that the red planet may have been much wetter than scientists thought and raises the possibility that the planet was once habitable.

“The size of the lake and the length of time and series that water was showing up implies that there may have been sufficient time for life to develop.” NASA's Mars Exploration Program scientist Dr. Michael Meyer told Reuters.

Curiosity collected the new data on its five-mile drive to Mount Sharp, the prime destination on its mission to study Mars' climate and geography. The rover landed in Gale Crater in August 2012.

After reaching Mount Sharp in September, the rover spent two months studying rocks at the base of the three-mile-high mountain, discovering fine layers of mudstone--which tend to collect at the bottom of lakes. This shows how a mountain inside a Mars' Gale Crater might have formed.

“If our assumption for Mount Sharp holds up, it challenges the idea that warm and wet conditions were passing, local, or only underground on Mars,” Dr. Ashwin Vasavada said in a written statement. “A more radical explanation is that Mars' ancient, thicker atmosphere raised temperatures above freezing globally, but so far we don't know how the atmosphere did that.”

Vasavada said Curiosity will continue to study changes in the rock formation as it climbs Mount Sharp in the next few months, which should test the team's hypothesis.

“We'll also look at the chemistry of the rocks to see if the water that was once present would've been of the kind that could support microbial life, if it ever was present,” he said in a video released by NASA. “With only 30 vertical feet of the mountain behind us, we're sure there's a lot more to discover.”

1.What does this text mainly talk about?

A. How scientists explored Mars.

B. The ways Curiosity used to explore Mount Sharp.

C. Some data about Gale Crater.

D. The discovery of Curiosity rover on Mars.

2.The discovery of the lake proves that _____.

A. early Mars was ripe and ready for life

B. the climate on early Mars was hot

C. life once existed on Mars

D. humans can live on Mars

3. What is the height of Mount Sharp?

A. 5 miles　　　 B. 30 miles　　　 C. 3 miles　　　　 D. 22miles

4.Where does this text probably come from?

A. A science fiction.　　　　　　 B. A science report.

C. An environment report.　　　　 D. An official announcement.

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Singles Day falls on every November 11th, and as the name indicates, this relatively new holiday is one exclusively for people who are still living the single life. I was a bit surprised when I googled “Singles Day” on the Internet, to find that China is the only country in the world that has set aside a special day for singles to celebrate their lives. To find out more about this celebration, please read on.

An old story goes that once there were four single men, leading very boring lives. None of them were married, or had lovers, or did anything exciting. They just sat around all day and played Mahjong.

One day they played Mahjong from 11 in the morning until 11 at night. During the game, no matter who won, the winning card was always the “four columns” card (the card shows four independent, parallel columns in two lines). Even more of a coincidence, it was Nov 11, or 11/11. In order to commemorate the day, they nicknamed it Singles Day.

Singles Day was first celebrated at various universities in Nanjing, capital city of Jiangsu Province during the 1990s. It got the name Singles Day because the date consists of four “ones”. These college students have since graduated, and carried their university tradition into society. Singles Day is now a special day for all fashionable youths.

The main way to celebrate Singles Day is to have dinner with your single friends, but it’s important that each person pay their own fee to show their independence. People also hold “blind date” parties in an attempt to say goodbye to their single lives.

Many singles also choose to say goodbye to their single lives on this day. Many attend “blind date” parties and many people choose to marry on this day. In addition to meaning “single” the four “ones” of the date can also mean “only one” as in “the only one for me.” Some people will use this date and this meaning to tell their special someone that they are the only “one” in their heart.

1.Singles Day got its name because _______.

A. the persons who play Mahjong are four singles

B. the date consists of four “ones”

C. only single persons celebrate the day

D. it was first celebrated at universities in Nanjing

2.Which of the following is wrong?

A. Singles Day was first celebrated in Nanjing’s universities.

B. Many singles choose Singles Day to say goodbye to their single lives.

C. The only way to celebrate the Singles Day is to have dinner with your single friends.

D. It was these college graduated students that carried their university’s tradition into society.

3.We can infer from the passage that ______.

A. the four singles did not get married

B. Singles Day receives great popularity among young people

C. when having dinner, one pays the fee for all his friends

D. on Singles Day many attend parties where blind people were present

4.What is the best title for the passage?

A. The Origin of Singles Day.               B. How to Celebrate Singles Day.

C. Singles Day.                             D. Say Goodbye to Singles Day.

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

If you’re wondering when you might get the flu, a new study indicates you should keep an eye on your local weather report.

According to a research published in the Journal of Clinical Virology, if you keep your eye on the weather and watch for the first major dip in the temperature, you can essentially mark your calendar in prediction for an outbreak the flu.

To figure out how the weather and flu outbreak may be connected, researchers analyzed statistics of 20,000 people in an area over three seasons. The number of people who caught the flu was then compared with local weather data.

After each season, the team noticed one consistent finding: The first really cold period with low outdoor temperatures and low humidity (湿度) was always followed by a week of a mass influenza outbreak.

The researchers say that aerosol particles (气溶胶粒子) containing virus and liquid are more able to spread in cold and dry weather. So, in theory, if you sneeze or cough and the surrounding air is very dry, the air will absorb the moisture and the particles containing the virus keep spreading through the air for a longer period of time.

Luckily there are ways to keep off the illness regardless of the weather. Washing your hands, coughing into the crook (弯曲) of your arm and getting vaccine (疫苗) are the best ways to prevent the flu from spreading. People over the age of 65, pregnant women and young children are at the highest risk of developing complications (并发症) related to the virus, according to the CDC.

1.From the first paragraph we can infer that 　　　　 .

A. people may easily fall sick

B. nobody can predict when one gets flu

C. flu is often related to weather changes

D. weather report plays an important part in life

2.How did the researchers draw the conclusion of the study?

A. By analyzing the data

B. By doing questionnaires

C. .By carrying out experiments

D. By making observation

3.Why do people catch the flu easily in cold and dry weather?

A. Cold and dry weather helps the spread of virus

B. The colder it is, the more kinds of flu there are

C. Gold and dry weather can prevent people from doing exercise

D. Low temperature can increase the number of aerosol particles

4.What can we learn about from the last paragraph?

A. The vaccines for flu

B. The main ways to cure flu

C. The most common kind of flu virus

D. The people who are easy to get flu

高二英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析

Many scientists are now exploring the idea of going to live on Mars. Some other scientists from the MASA AMES Center(美国宇航局) have already started the creation of a “Mars town” and many others are in fact already experimenting with it. Of course, these experiments are done on Earth itself but this “Mars town” has an environment practically like that of Mars.

The astronauts working in these towns wear their space suit and also do everything they would really have to carry out if they ever go to Mars in the future.

But Mars would be like Earth, a temporary（临时的） place for humans. When the Sun starts swallowing up(吞掉) the planets, Mars will disappear only hours after Earth. So Mars only seems to be the ideal place to spread the human beings. It is also a good location to send humans if ever there is a disaster on Earth. By saying disaster, I mean asteroids(小行星) hitting and things like that.

If we humans do not want to disappear when Earth or Mars gets swallowed up, we will have to go and live beyond the solar system. But are there any planets outside our solar system prepared to support life? Astronomers’ answer is:

“If Earth can support life, why can’t other planets do the same too? Astronomers have already discovered a Jupiter(木星)- like planet orbiting a Sun-like star, so why not an Earth-like planet orbiting a Sun-like star?

To achieve this goal though, many other problems have to be taken into consideration. How do we transform(改造) a dusty planet like Mars into one more or less like our Earth? How should we go on? There is still a long way to go.

1. The “Mars town” mentioned in the passage is ___________

2. We can know from the passage that astronomers probably think ____________

3.Why would Mars only be a temporary(临时) place for humans?

4.The underlined word “orbiting” in the fifth paragraph is closest in meaning to “________”

5.Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Scientists have found what look like caves on Mars, and say they could be protecting life from the planet’s terrible environment.

The first caves discovered beyond the Earth appear as seven mysterious black dots on the pictures sent back by NASA’s Mars Odyssey orbiter. Each as large as a football field, they may be openings into natural caves below the Martian surface.

“If there is life on Mars, there is a good chance you’d find it in caves,” said Jut Wynne, one of the researchers who noticed the features while working on a US Geological Survey Mars Cave Detection Program.

Jonathan Clarke, a geologist with the Mars Society of Australia, yesterday described the discovery as exciting.

One photo taken at night by an infrared imager(红外线成像器) showed one hole to be unusually warm, suggesting hot air trapped during the day is flowing out.

“I said: ‘Wow, that’s a cave’.” Dr. Clarke said excitedly. “People have been looking for these for a long time; now we have found them.”

He agreed such caves would be perfect places to hunt for life escaping from the bitterly cold, radiation-soaked(充满辐射的), dry surface.

“Tiny drops of water could collect inside,” he said. “If there are gases coming out, they could provide energy for a whole range of bacteria. A cave is also a protection from radiation; the surface of Mars is exposed to high levels of space radiation.”

The caves probably formed when tube-shaped lave flows(管状岩浆流) spread across the planet long ago. The outside of the tubes cooled, forming solid walls, while something hotter inside allowed the remaining have to flow out, forming caves.

1.What does the passage mainly talk about?

A. How the caves were formed on Mars.

B. How scientists found these caves on Mars.

C. Caves on Mars may be full of hot air or a sign of life.

D. Scientists have completely recognized the surface of Mars.

2.What can the “cave” be used for according to the scientists?

A. They can protect life from the planet’s terrible environment.

B. They can provide energy for people’s life.

C. They can be used to prevent space radiation

D. Both A and C.

3.We can learn from the passage that　　　　 .

A. water has already been found on Mars

B. the scientists found all the caves at night

C. it is certain that there is life in these caves

D. the surface of Mars is bitterly cold, radiation-soaked and dry

4.According to the passage, Dr. Clarke was so excited because　　　　 .

A. such caves could provide energy for life

B. they had finally found the caves on Mars

C. such caves would be perfect places to hunt for life

D. scientists had long been looking for these caves

5.Necessary conditions for life on Mars mentioned in the passage may include　　　　 .

A. lave and energy

B. water and radiation from space

C. gases and lave

D. water and protection from radiation

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Loud cheers and applause broke out at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab on Monday, November 25, 2018, as the unmanned lander, called Insight, touched down on Mars, after nearly seven

years from design to launch to landing.

The great arrival of the spacecraft—designed to listen for quakes and shakes as a way to discover the Red Planet’s inner secrets, how it formed billions of years ago and, how other planets like Earth took shape—marked the eighth successful landing on Mars in Nasa’s history.

Minutes after InSight landed on the surface of Mars, the first image was sent back, showing a wide flat area as seen through a dirty camera.

The touchdown came after a nearly seven-month, 300 million-mile travel from Earth to Mars, during which the InSight spacecraft had to slow down from a speed of more than 12,000 mph. The spacecraft’s heat shelter helped the lander survive temperatures as high as 2,700℉.

Each step along the way was watched nervously at JPL, with updates delayed by the eight-minute light travel time between Earth and Mars. Mission controllers hugged each other with joy when the signals were received. “We are proud of everything that has gone on today,” they told us reporters.

The first picture of the surface of Mars was sent back to Earth by one of the MarCO nanosatellites (马可纳米卫星) that accompanied InSight during its travel to Mars. The dust from the landing made the view unclear. Pictures from it were expected to be clearer once the dust settled and the lens cover (镜头盖) was removed.

Hours later, InSight’s batteries were charging as expected. The InSight team also passed on another picture, taken by a different camera that’s fixed on the lander’s robotic arm. The view is clearer, showing the robotic arm and the seismometer, which is used to discover the actual movement of the ground.

1.What do we know about InSight lander from the passage?

A.It has landed successfully on Mars eight times.

B.It travelled all the way at the speed of 12,000 mph.

C.Mission controllers helped it survive high temperature.

D.The task of it is to find out the inner mysteries of Mars.

2.We know what Mars looks like by _______.

A.studying pictures InSight lander sends back

B.reading reports sent back by the person on Mars

C.collecting images sent back by MarCO nanosatellites

D.analyzing information the robot on InSight lander sends back

3.How did the mission controllers feel when they received signals from Insight?

A.Unconcerned. B.Worried.

C.Amazed. D.Excited.

4.The passage is most probably taken from _______.

A.a fiction novel B.a news report

C.a travel magazine D.an official statement

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

China's first moon rover, Yutu, or Jade Rabbit touched the lunar surface at 9:14 a.m.on December 14,2013,　 ________deep trace on the loose lunar soil.

A. left　　　     B. leaving　　　     C. Having left　　 D. To leave

高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

______ with a moon rover(月球车) called “Yutu” (Jade Rabbit) , Chang'e-3 successfully landed on the moon.

A．Being equipped 　 B．Having equipped　　 C．To be equipped　　 D．Equipped

高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

______ with a moon rover(月球车) called “Yutu” (Jade Rabbit) , Chang'e-3 successfully landed on the moon.

A. Being equipped　　 　　 B. Having equipped    　 C. To be equipped　　 D. Equipped

高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

A new Australian research indicates that children with a stutter (结巴) do not suffer disadvantages at school, More than ten percent of children have a stutter by the age of four but they score just as high as other children on tests designed to judge their language, thinking skills and character.

Professor Reilly’s team studied over 1600 children from Melbourne, Australia. Their mothers had been filling out regular questionnaires since their babies were eight months old and the children were judged by a range of language and behaviour tests when they reached the age of four. Reilly and her colleagues asked the parents to call the study group if their children started showing signs of stuttering. Diagnoses were confirmed by a researcher, who then visited the homes of children with a stutter every month to check on their progress.

By the age of four, 181 of the children studied had been diagnosed with a stutter. Follow-up visits to the 181 children who were judged after diagnoses showed just nine no longer had a stutter one year later. Stuttering children scored 5. 5 points higher than that of their non-stuttering children on language tests and 2. 6 points higher on the test of non-verbal intelligence. The researchers said it was possible that stuttering could improve language skills, or that stuttering could result from very fast language development among some children.

The research suggests parents of children who stutter are usually advised to wait a year before looking for treatment —which can be expensive — to see if the stutter goes away by itself, unless the children become very unhappy or stop talking.

1.Children with a stutter at school _______.

A. are poor in their lessons

B. have normal language skills

C. work much harder than others

D. are looked down upon by others

2.According to Reilly, parents should make a telephone to the study members when ______.

A. they wanted to turn in the questionnaires

B. their children were rude to other people

C. they wanted to seek some practical advice

D. their children had a symptom of stuttering

3.The author shows the result of the research by _______.

A. presenting some statistics

B. offering some good examples

C. telling some interesting stories

D. performing some operations

4.Some children may stutter probably because_______.

A. they become angry very easily

B. their intelligence is very poor

C. they don’t have any patience at all

D. their language develops very quickly

5.It can be inferred from the last paragraph that _______.

A. it costs quite a lot to treat children with a stutter

B. it is hard for stuttering children to speak normally

C. children with a stutter should be treated in a proper way

D. stuttering children can’t be any worse off than they are already

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析