_______ difficult the task may be, we must finish it on time, because we can’t miss _______ a precious opportunity．

A. Whatever; so　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. However; such

C. However; so　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. Whatever; such

　　The plan: turn Mars into a blue world with streams and green fields, and then fill it with creatures (生物) from the earth. This idea may sound like something from a science fiction (科幻小说), but it is actually being taken seriously by many researchers.

　　This suggested future for the “red planet” will be the main topic for discussion at an international conference hosted by NASA (美国宇航局) this week. Leading researchers as well as science fiction writers will attend the event. It comes as NASA is preparing a multi?billion?dollar Mars research programme. “Turning Mars into a little earth has long been a topic in science fiction,”said Dr Michael Meyer, NASA’s senior scientist for astrobiology (太空生物学). “Now, with scientists exploring the reality, we can ask what are the real possibilities of changing Mars.”

  Most scientists agree that Mars could be turned into a little earth, although much time and money would be needed to achieve this goal.

　　But many experts are shocked by the idea. “We are destroying our own world at an unbelievable speed and now we are talking about ruining another planet,” said Paul Murdin, of the Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge, UK. Over the past months, scientists have become increasingly confident they will find Martian life forms. Europe and America’s robot explorers have found proof that water, mixed with soil, exists in large amounts on the planet.

  In addition, two different groups of scientists announced on March 28 that they had found signs of methane (甲烷) in the Martian atmosphere (大气). The gas is a waste product of living creatures and could be produced by microbes (微生物) living in the red planet’s soil.

　　But scientists such as Dr Lisa Pratt, a biologist at Indiana University, say that these microbes will be put in danger by the little earth project. “Before we have even discovered if there is life on Mars, we are talking about carrying out projects that would destroy all these native lifeforms, all the strange microbes that we hope to find buried in the soil,” said Dr Pratt. This view is shared by Monica Grady, a planetary scientist at the Natural History Museum, London. “We cannot risk starting a global experiment that would wipe out the precious information we are looking for.” she said， “This is just wrong.”

5. The passage is about________.

A. a plan turning Mars into a little earth

B. the necessity of changing Mars

C. Mars supporting life

D. finding water in the Mars

6. Which of the following is NOT the reason why some scientists are against the plan?

A. The project would wipe out all the native lifeforms on the Mars.

B. The project will cost too much money and work.

C. We would ruin Mars.

D. We are destroying our own world at an unbelievable speed. 

7. We can infer from the passage that________.

A. water is a crucial factor for life

B. the project will have little effect on the native lifeforms supposed to live on the Mars

C. Monica Grady is in favour of carrying out the little earth project

D. the idea turning Mars into a little earth is nothing but a science fiction

8. Which of the following supports the conclusion of microbes living in the Mars’s soil?

A. Scientists found liquid water in the Mars.

B. Scientists found signs of methane in the Martian atmosphere.

C. Scientists found a lot of good soil on the Mars.

D. Scientists found some creatures living on the Mars.

________ he is ,he seldom shows his precious coins to others.

　　A. Coin -collector as　　　　　　　 B. As a coin -collector

　　C. A coin- collector as　　　　　　　D. Coin- collector that

第二部分　阅读理解（共25小题，第一节第小题2分，第二节每小题1分；满分45分）

       第一节　阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（Ａ、Ｂ、Ｃ、Ｄ）中，选出最佳选项。

A

The story goes that some time ago, a man punished his 3-year-old daughter for wasting a roll of gold wrapping paper. Money was tight and he became infuriated(愤怒的) when the child tried to decorate a box to put under the Christmas tree. Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift to her father the next morning and said, "This is for you, Daddy."

The man was embarrassed by his earlier overreaction, but his anger flared again when he found out the box was empty. He yelled at her, stating, "Don't you know, when you give someone a present, there is supposed to be something inside? The little girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes and cried, "Oh, Daddy, it's not empty at all. I blew kisses into the box. They're all for you, Daddy."

The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little girl, and he begged for her forgiveness.

Only a short time later, an accident took the life of the child. It is also told that her father kept that gold box by his bed for many years and, whenever he was discouraged, he would take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put it there.

In a very real sense, each one of us, as humans beings, have been given a gold container filled with unconditional love and kisses from our children, family members, friends, and God. There is simply no other possession, anyone could hold, more precious than this.

56．The 3-year-old girl was punished by her father for ________.

A．wasting gold                    　　B．wasting wrapping paper

C．putting the box under the Christmas tree  D．bringing the gift to her father

57．What’s inside the box according to the little girl?

A．nothing  　　 B．air  　　 C．kisses  　　　       D．gold wrapping paper

58．The father remembered the love of his daughter by ________.

A．kissing the gold box            

B．putting gold into the box.

C．taking out an imaginary kiss from the box. 　

D．keeping the little girl’s ash box by his bed.

59．Choose the best title for the passage.

A．The kisses in the box.          B．A girl and his father 

C．A love story                 D．The box under the Christmas tree.

He gave me some very _____ advice on buying a house.

　　A. precious    B. worthy    C. precise    D. valuable