Section C
Directions: In this section, you will hear a passage three times. When the passage is read for the first time, you should listen carefully for its general idea. When the passage is read for the second time, you are required to fill in the blanks with the exact words you have just heard. Finally, when the passage is read for the third time, you should check what you have written.
47、听录音，回答以下问题：
26.__________
48、 27.__________
49、 28.__________
50、 29.__________
51、 30.__________
52、 31.__________
53、 32.__________
54、 33.__________
55、 34.__________
56、 35.__________
Part II Listening Comprehension.(30 minutes)
Part III Reading Comprehension.(40 minutes)
Section C
Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.
57、 根据材料，回答57-66题：
With the unemployment rate topping 8% and the government $16 trillion in debt, it's easy to question why taxpayers are spending $ 2.5 billion on an SUV- sized Mars rover (探测车) named Curiosity, which landed successfully on the red planet in the early hours of Monday. Couldn't this money go toward something closer to home, such as providing shelter for the homeless or building roads? Yes, it could. But this kind of thinking is shortsighted.
The Mars project is the latest manifestation of America's restless desire to answer previously unanswerable questions and take on new challenges. To paraphrase President John F. Kennedy, America does things like this not because they are easy, but because they are hard.
Getting the probe down safely on Mars, after a 350 million mile journey, was certainly no easy feat. Virtually all the technology used in the approach and landing was new, or used in new ways. Once settled in, Curiosity should be a particularly awe-inspiring project. It is designed to shed light on big questions: Could life forms have ever existed on Mars? Might they still exist? And are we alone in the universe ?
When budgets are tight, space projects such as Curiosity come in for particular abuse. They are often portrayed as complicated flights of odd ideas. They are not. They are both inspirational and immensely practical. Technology is, after all, an engine of economic growth. If that is a goal, as well it should be, why not support a program that makes science exciting and showcases some of the most interesting things that. technology can do? One of the main benefits of projects like this one is to promote a confident America. Throughout history, nations that explore, and engage in science, lead the world. Beginning in the 15th century, for example, European nations sent sailors around the globe and provided the impetus for thinkers such as Copernicus, Galileo and Newton to invent modern physics and astronomy. Not coincidentally, Europe came to dominate the world until the dawn of the 20th century.
Those who would slash space program budgets apparently haven't learned history's lessons and don't see the great possibilities that the future presents--possibilities reflected in every image transmitted back from the rover.
Why is it easy to question why taxpayers' money is spent on Curiosity?
A.Because Curiosity costs too much money.
B.Because the economic situation is depressed.
C.Because the money should be spent on the people.
D.Because Curiosity is meaningless and impractical.
58、 According to the first paragraph,
A.people should view Curiosity in the long term
B.Curiosity will generate more benefits than other things
C.people should not focus too much on economic situation
D.Curiosity is more important than economic development
59、 Although the probe on Mars is not easy, America still insists it because
A.new technology and new ways are found to solve the problems
B.the probe can shed light on many big questions
C.the nation's confidence can be strengthened through the probe
D.the nation has a restless desire to take on new challenges
60、 Why does the author say space projects are practical?
A.Because they make science exciting.
B.Because they promote economic growth.
C.Because they increase America's national power.
D.Because they show what technology can bring.
61、 The author uses Europe from 15th century to 20th century as an example to suggest that_______ .
A.nations which send sailors around the globe will be stronger
B.nations which develop physics and astronomy will be stronger
C.nations which support science exploration will be stronger
D.nations which dominate the world will be stronger
62、根据材料，回答62-71题：
The argument that global warming is causing more extreme weather is problematic because it presumes the globe is warming. In fact, the global temperature trend line has been stable for more than a dozen years, while carbon dioxide has increased 7%. If carbon dioxide was the driver, then why have global temperatures stopped increasing?
Keep in mind that carbon dioxide represents 0.0395% of the Earth's atmosphere. Arguing that carbon dioxide is driving the small temperature variations in our climate as opposed to the oceans, which cover70% of the planet and have 1,000 times the heat capacity of air, or the output of our sun, is scientifically disturbing.
Weather is more publicized nowadays because of its impact on society and the constant push of the global warming agenda. Increases in population result in more people being in the path of Mother Nature's great anger. Global warming activists attribute every major weather event to man because they are either uninformed about history, or choose to ignore it. The latest claims resulting from this series of hot and dry summers ignore the fact that more state heat records were set in the 1930s than all other decades of the last century combined. Anyone remember the Dust Bowl?
Seven major hurricanes hit the East Coast from 1954 to 1960. Now that we are in a pattern similar to the 1950s, the East Coast is vulnerable once again, and attributing events like Hurricane Irene to global warming is incorrect. All the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC.projections for our climate have proved to be wrong. Global temperatures have stopped increasing and are nowhere near estimates made a decade ago. The IPCC incorrectly predicted Arctic sea ice would disappear by now.
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