Two sons worked for their father on the family farm. For some years, the 16 brother had been given more 17 to do than the older one. The older brother couldn’t 18 why, so one day he asked his father the 19 why he always trusted (信任) his younger brother to do more work.

The father said, "Go to the Kelly’s 20 nearby and see if they have any 21 to sell."

The older brother soon 22 with the answer, "Yes, they have five ducks they can 23 to us."

That father then said, "Good, now please ask them the 24 for the ducks."

The son returned, "The ducks are ￡10 each."

The father asked, "25 can they deliver (交付) the ducks?"

The son returned, "They can deliver the ducks tomorrow."

The father asked the older brother to 26 and watch. He then said to the younger brother, "Go to the Davidson’s Farm and see if they have any ducks for sale."

The younger brother soon returned with the 27 , "Yes, they have 28 ducks for ￡10 each, 29 ten ducks for ￡8 each; and they can 30 them tomorrow —I asked them to deliver the five ducks 31 I told them not to in the next hour. We agreed that if I wanted the 32 five ducks I could buy them at ￡6 each."

The father 33 the older son, who nodded his head. He now 34 why his brother was given more work. His younger brother was actually 35 at it than he was.

Houston, Texas (June 8. 2002)–in 2004, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will send two robots to separate places of Mars to seek out past or present signs of water. It is an exciting idea to send two robots driving over very different places of Mars at the same time, to be able to see what is on the other side of the hill.
Last month, NASA announced it was sending one robot to Mars, but after two weeks, it decided there was enough money for two. The robots will be sent up within two weeks of each other in May and June of 2003 from Kennedy Space Center. If all goes well, the two spacecraft will touch down on Mars, after a seven-and –a-half-month space flight, on January 2 and 20, 2004.
The robots, each weighing 150 kilograms, can cover 100 meters per day. They are designed to be able to examine the mineral content of the soil, and their special camera will take pictures of the lands and hills. Although they will be under control from the earth, the robots are able to move more freely compared to those sent up before them.
The actual landing points have not been determined yet, but the scientists say it will be in areas where they hope to find water.
49.According to the news report, scientists plan to send robots up to Mars to _____.
A.find out whether there is water on Mars   B.see if robots can find minerals there  
C.test how fast robots can drive there                 D.prove that robots can work on Mars
50.How long in between will the two robots be sent to Mars?
A.1 year       B. 7.5 months                  C. 2 months       D. 2 weeks
51. One of the important jobs for the robots on Mars is to _______.
A.study the soil                                     B. walk everywhere
C.test the new camera                                D. find a suitable landing point
52. We can infer from the last sentence that scientists ________.
A. have changed the landing points many times  B. hope to land the robots on the surface of water
C. are still working on the plan                      D. know where they can find water

Houston, Texas (June 8. 2002)–in 2004, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will send two robots to separate places of Mars to seek out past or present signs of water. It is an exciting idea to send two robots driving over very different places of Mars at the same time, to be able to see what is on the other side of the hill.

Last month, NASA announced it was sending one robot to Mars, but after two weeks, it decided there was enough money for two. The robots will be sent up within two weeks of each other in May and June of 2003 from Kennedy Space Center. If all goes well, the two spacecraft will touch down on Mars, after a seven-and –a-half-month space flight, on January 2 and 20, 2004.

The robots, each weighing 150 kilograms, can cover 100 meters per day. They are designed to be able to examine the mineral content of the soil, and their special camera will take pictures of the lands and hills. Although they will be under control from the earth, the robots are able to move more freely compared to those sent up before them.

The actual landing points have not been determined yet, but the scientists say it will be in areas where they hope to find water.

49.According to the news report, scientists plan to send robots up to Mars to _____.

A.find out whether there is water on Mars   B.see if robots can find minerals there  

C.test how fast robots can drive there                 D.prove that robots can work on Mars

50.How long in between will the two robots be sent to Mars?

A.1 year       B. 7.5 months                  C. 2 months       D. 2 weeks

51. One of the important jobs for the robots on Mars is to _______.

A.study the soil                                     B. walk everywhere

C.test the new camera                                D. find a suitable landing point

52. We can infer from the last sentence that scientists ________.

A. have changed the landing points many times  B. hope to land the robots on the surface of water

C. are still working on the plan                      D. know where they can find water