In the summer of 1978 an English man named Steven was driving his tractor through a field of wheat when he discovered something strange. Some of his wheat was lying on the ground. The flattened wheat formed(形成)a circle about six meters across . Around this circle were four smaller circles of flattened wheat.
　 Three years later a farmer who lived nearby discovered almost the same circles in one of his fields. These circles were larger—nearly 15 meters across . That same year , another English farmer discovered three circles of flattened wheat on his land—one large circle between two small circles. During the following years, farmers in England found circles in their fields more and more often.
　 The circles are called “crop circles” because they usually appear in fields of wheat or corn. The wheat in the circles lies on the ground but is never broken; it keeps on growing, and the farmers can later harvest it. Farmers always discover the crop circles in the morning, so the circles probably form at night. They appear only in the months from May to September. What causes the crop circles?
　 At first, people thought that some kids were making them as a joke, or that farmers were making them to attract tourists.(In fact, in 1991, two men said they made the circles themselves, but many scientists don’t believe them.) People tried to copy them: They tried to make circles exactly like the ones the farmers had found. They couldn’t do it. They couldn’t enter a field of wheat without leaving tracks, and they couldn’t flatten the wheat without breaking it.
　 Several times people reported seeing stranger objects near the fields where crop circles later appeared. Many people believe that these crop circles are the messages sent by living things from outer space(外层空间)or the marks left by their spaceships.
　 Scientists who have studied the crop circles try to find out what causes them. In the summer of 1990 some scientists spent three weeks in the part of England where many circles have appeared. They had all the latest high-tech equipment(最新高科技设备). The equipment—worth 1.8 million dollars—got nothing. But one night, as the scientists were watching a field, crop circles formed in the field behind them, which were quite different from the others. The scientists had neither seen nor heard anything.
　 When Steven discovered the crop circles on his land in 1978, he said, “It was just like something that had landed in the field from the air and gone back up again. I don’t know what to make of these things.”
　 Crop circles have appeared in England, Japan, the United States and Russia. Experts from all over the world have studied them, and they say what Steven said: They don’t know what to make of these things.
【小题1】Which picture is probably the one formed in the field behind the scientists?

【小题2】“Flattened wheat” means ___________.
　　  

A．broken wheat

B．lying wheat

C．harvested wheat

D．growing wheat

【小题3】The passage is mainly about something ___________ .

A．that is done by living things from outer space

B．that cannot be solved but found all around the world

C．that cannot be made clear or understood

D．that is discovered and copied by the farmers

Jane Austen, a famous English writer, was born at Steventon, Hampshire, on December 16, 1775, and died on July 18, 1817. She began writing early in life, although the prejudices（偏见） of her times forced her to have her books published anonymously （匿名）.

     But Jane Austen is perhaps the best known and best loved of Bath's many famous local people and visitors. She paid two long visits here during the last five years of the eighteenth century and from 1801 to 1806, Bath was her home. Her deep knowledge of the city is fully seen in two of her novels, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, which are largely set in Bath. The city is still very much as Jane Austen knew it, keeping in its streets and public buildings the well-ordered world that she described so well in her novels. Now the pleasure of learning Jane Austen's Bath can be enhanced （增强）by visiting the Jane Austen Centre in Gay Street. Here, in a Georgian town house in the heart of the city, you can find out more about Bath in Jane Austen's time and the importance of Bath in her life and work.

The Centre has been set up with the help and guidance of members of the Jane Austen Society. After your visit to the Centre, you can look round the attractive shop, which offers a huge collection of Jane Austen related（相关的） books, cards and many specially designed gifts. Jane Austen quizzes are offered to keep the children busy.

    You can also have walking tours of Jane Austen's Bath, which is a great way to find out more about Jane Austen and discover the wonderful Georgian city of Bath. The tour lasts about one and a half hours. The experienced guides will take you to the places where Jane lived, walked and shopped.

1.Jane Austen paid two long visits to Bath________.

A. in her early twenties                        B. in her early teens

C. in her late twenties                         D. in her late teens

2.What can we learn about Bath from the passage?

A. Bath has greatly changed since Jane Austen's death.

B. The city has changed as much as Jane Austen knew it.

C. Bath remains（保持） almost the same as in Jane Austen's time.

D. No changes have taken place in Bath since Jane Austen's time.

3.The author writes this passage in order to________.

A. attract readers to visit the city of Bath

B. ask readers to buy Austen's books

C. tell readers about Jane Austen's experience

D. give a brief introduction to the Jane Austen Society

4.It takes you about one and a half hours________.

A. to get to the Jane Austen Centre in Gay Street

B. to buy Jane Austen related books, cards and gifts

C. to find a guide to take you to the Centre

D. to look around the city of Bath on foot

 

The most enjoyable way to discover Liverpool is by boat．The first thing to do is to take a ferry across the River Mersey. It’s the best way to find out about this city’s long and interesting history. The Liverpool Ferry，which is the oldest ferry service in Europe，started more than 800 years ago．
In the l8th century Liverpool became an important city for international business across the Atlantic Ocean．Ships sailed from Liverpool to the United States and Africa．The place to learn more about Liverpool’s importance is the Maritime Museum．
Liverpool was important because of its industry and trade in the 18th century．In the 20th century it became famous for music．The boys in the rock group，the Beatles，all came from Liverpool．The city is very proud of them．It named its airport John Lennon International Airport。after one of the Beatles．Tourists can take a bus tour to visit some of the places the Beatles mention in their songs, 1ike Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields．They can also visit the Cavern Club—the group first played there in 1961．The Beatles Story is a museum and gallery．Here you can find out more about these world—famous musicians．
But there’s more to see and do in Liverpoo1．At the Walker Art Gallery you can see the best art in the North of England．If you like modern art，the place to visit is the Tate Gallery．But above all，it’s the friendly and welcoming people of Liverpool who make this a city you should visit when you come to Great Britain．
【小题1】This passage is mainly for   ．

A．people who live in Liverpool

B．students who want to study in UK

C．foreigners who want to visit Great Britain

D．people who are interested in history

【小题2】The word ferry in the first paragraph is most likely to be a kink of ________.

A．bus

B．boat

C．train

D．bicycle

【小题3】Liverpool first became famous for________.

A．its important in international business.

B．a group of pop singers

C．a beautiful river called River Mersey

D．a big museum in the town

【小题4】For people who are interested in music，the place they want to visit most would be______

A．the Maritime Museum	B．the Tate Gallery
C．the Beatles Story	D．the Walker Art Gallery

【小题5】Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?

A．A good place to visit in UK

B．The history of Liverpool

C．The most famous and of the world

D．The most friendly people in UK

London is a good place for kids! The museums listed here will welcome children and make their visit fun.

Bethnal Green Museum of Childhood It's famous for its collection of toys, dolls and children's costumes. It also offers a lively program of activities on weekends and during holidays. Address: Cambridge, Heath Road, E2 Phone: 020 8983 5200 Price: Free	Theater Museum It tills the history of the performing arts in the UK. The collection includes displays on theater, dance, opera, musicals, rock and pop. Address: Russell Street, WC2E Phone: 020 7943 4700 Price: Free Nearest Station: Covent Garden Tube
London's Transport Museum Travel through time and discover the colorful story of London's famous transportation system, from 1800 to the present day. Through exciting displays of buses, trams and trains. Address: London's Transport Museum, WCE2 Phone: 020 7379 6344 Nearest Station: Govent Garden Tube	Natural History Museum It has hundreds of exciting exhibits. It also allows visitors to meet museum researchers and find out about their work, and learn about recent scientific discoveries and the museum's collections. Address: Cromwell Road, SW7 Phone: 020 7942 5000 Price: Free Nearest Station: South Kensington Tube

1.The museums are mostly for ________.    

A．parents

B．children

C．teachers

D．scientists

2.If you want to visit Bethnal Green Museum of Childhood, you can _______.    

A．call 020 7943 4700

B．go to Cromwell Road

C．call 020 8983 5200

D．go to South Kensington Tube Station

3.If you want to know about operas, you should go to ________.

A．Natural History Museum

B．Bethnal Green Museum of Childhood

C．Theater Museum

D．London’s Transport Museum

4.You don't need to pay to visit any of the museums except for ________.    

A．Bethnal Green Museum of Childhood

B．London's Transport Museum

C．Natural History Museum

D．Theater Museum

5.You may find these ads at ________.    

A．www.friendship.com	B．www.inventors.com
C．www.londontown.com	D．www.jokesfind.com

 

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 right 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 if Gliese 581g has an atmosphere. If it has one, studying the atmosphere would give us a good idea whether 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.
【小题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.

【小题2】According to the article, Gliese 581g ________.

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

【小题3】Paragraph 5 is mainly about ______.

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

【小题4】Which of the following is the best title for the passage above?

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