【正文】 （答案解析） 打印本頁 一、綜合題。 ： Unless we spend money to spot and prevent asteroids (小行星 ) now, one might crash into Earth and destroy life as we know it, say some scientists. Asteroids are bigger versions of the meteoroids (流星 ) that race across the night sky. Most orbit the sun far from Earth and don’t threaten us. But there are also thousands of asteroids whose orbits put them on a collision course with Earth. Buy $50 million worth of new telescopes right now. Then spend $10 million a year for the next 25 years to locate most of the space rocks. By the time we spot a fatal one, the scientists say, we’ll have a way to change its course. Some scientists favor pushing asteroids off course with nuclear weapons. But the cost wouldn’t be cheap. Is it worth it? Two things experts consider when judging any risk are: 1) How likely the event is。 and 2) How bad the consequences are if the event occurs. Experts think an asteroid big enough to destroy lots of life might strike Earth once every 500,000 years. Sounds pretty rare— but if one did fall, it would be the end of the world. “If we don’t take care of these big asteroids, they’ll take care of us,” says one scientist. “It’s that simple.” The cure, though, might be worse than the disease. Do we really want fleets of nuclear weapons sitting around on Earth? “The world has less to fear from doomsday (毀滅性的 ) rocks than from a great nuclear fleet set against them,” said a New York Times article. does the passage say about asteroids and meteoroids? A) They are heavenly bodies different in position. B) They are heavenly bodies similar in nature. C) There are more asteroids than meteoroids. D) Asteroids are more mysterious than meteoroids. do scientists say about the collision of an asteroid with Earth? A) It is very unlikely but the danger exists. B) Such a collision might occur once every 25 years. C) Collisions of smaller asteroids with Earth occur more often than expected. D) It’s still too early to say whether such a collision might occur. do people think of the suggestion of using nuclear weapons to alter the courses of asteroids? A) It sounds practical but it may not solve the problem. B) It may create more problems than it might solve. C) It is a waste of money because a collision of asteroids with Earth is very unlikely. D) Further research should be done before it is proved applicable. can conclude from the passage that _______. A) while pushing asteroids off course nuclear weapons would destroy the world B) asteroids racing across the night sky are likely to hit Earth in the near future C) the worry about asteroids can be left to future generations since it is unlikely to happen in our lifetime D) workable solutions still have to be found to prevent a collision of asteroids with Earth of the following best describes the author’s tone in this passage? A) Optimistic. B) Critical. C) Objective. D) Arbitrary. 答案部分 一、綜合題。 1. 【 正確答案 】 1. B 2. A 3. B 4. D 5. C （答案解析） 打印本頁 一、綜合題。 the text. While still in its early stages, welfare reform has already been judged a great success in many states — at least in getting people off welfare. It’s estimated that more tha n 2 million people have left the rolls since 1994. In the past four years, welfare rolls in Athens County have been cut in half. But 70 percent of the people who left in the past tow years took jobs that paid less than $6 an hour. The result: The Athens County poverty rate still remains at more than 30 percent — twice the national average. For advocates（代言人） for the poor, that’s an indication much more needs to be done. “More people are getting jobs, but it’s not making their lives any better,” says Kathy Lairn, a policy analyst at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in Washington. A center analysis of US Census data nationwide found that between 1995 and 1996, a greater percentage of single, femaleheaded households were earning money on their own, but that average ine for these households actually went down. But for many, the fact that poor people are able to support themselves almost as well without government aid as they did with it is in itself a huge victory. “Welfare was a poison. It was a toxin （毒素） that was poisoning the family,” says Robert Rector, a welfare reform policy analyst. “The reform is changing the moral climate in low ine munities. It’s beginning to rebuild the work ethic （道德觀） , which is much more important.” Mr. Rector and others argued that once “the habit of dependency is cracked,” then the country can make other policy changes aimed at improving living standards. 1. From the passage, it can be seen that the author _______. A) believes the reform has reduced the government’s burden B) insists that welfare reform is doing little good for the poor C) is overenthusiastic about the success of welfare reform D) considers welfare reform to be fundamentally successful 2. Why aren’t people enjoying better lives when they have jobs? A) Because many families are divorced. B) Because government aid is now rare. C) Because their wages are low. D) Because the cost of living is rising. 3. What is worth doting from the example of Athens County is that _______. A) greater efforts should be made to improve people’s living standards B) 70 percent of the people there have been employed for two years C) 50 percent of the population no longer relies on welfare D) the living standards of most people are going down 4. From the passage we know that welfare reform aims at _______. A) saving welfare funds B) rebuilding the work ethic C) providing more jobs D) cut