On the night of July 6, 1943, a plane took off from an Air Force base in England to intercept German fighters over the English Channel. Piloting the plane was Captain Thomas Nash. Looking westward, Nash saw twelve orange lights in a row, moving at a fantastic rate of speed. An old experienced flyer, he had never seen anything like them. Thinking they might be a new German weapon, he decided to give chase. But when he swung the plane around and headed directly for the lights, they disappeared. Captain Nash may have been the first to see such orange lights but he wasn't the last. His experience was repeated many times by pilots during World WarIIboth in Europe and the Far East. Pilots in the Korean War also reported seeing the strange lights. What were they? No one knows for sure, but there is an interesting theory to account for them. According to this theory, the orange lights are space animals -- animals specially adapted to life in the upper atmosphere just as some creatures are adapted to life at the bottom of the sea. These space animals, the theory says, live so far up in the atmosphere that they are not visible from earth. They feed partly on the air and partly on energy from sunlight. Being almost pure energy themselves, they can adjust their bodies to glow at night. During the day they become invisible. Before World War II, continues the theory, there was little radiated energy available on the earth's surface. Then came the development of rockets, atomic reactors , and hydroelectric plants . The space creatures are attracted to these sources of energy of food. At night when there is no energy from sunlight, they go down into the lower levels in search of a meal. They may even drift into the range of human eyesight. This explains the fact that they have been sighted regularly from the earth since 1943. The space animal theory would seem to suggest that _ . A) living beings are extremely adaptable B) life in space is impossible for man C) the fittest creatures always survive D) life cannot exist in the depth of the sea
A
"Beating is a sign of affection, cursing is a sign of love." Many may not expect to hear the words of the old Chinese saying in these modern Times-- with parents wealthier and better educated than they have ever been--but experts say they still ring true. Today,it seems,Chinese parents are more likely to send their children to precollege military academies in the United States in the hope that some tough love will pave the way to success. "Good education doesn't mean letting your children enjoy privileges, especially our boys." said Song Wenming,an entrepreneur in Jinhua,East China's Zhejiang province. "They should be raised in tough conditions to know what to fight for in the future." In August,Song sent his 17yearold son to Valley Forge Military Academy (VFMA) in Pennsylvania. _ . Statistics show that an increasing number of Chinese students have been registering with such academies. A few years ago, there were no Chinese students at Valley Forge. Today,there are 28."All of the Chinese students at Valley Forge came from wealthy families;some of them were spoiled." said Jennifer Myers, director of marketing and communications at the school. Song's only son, Song Siyu, had a rocky start during his first six weeks at the school. The teenager said he went to the school voluntarily but did not expect it to be as difficult. Now, three months later, he has perfected the art of taking a bath in 35 seconds, finishing a meal without looking at his food, and making his bed with precision. He can even take criticism,no matter how unreasonable. "The training is hard but I know it is good for selfdevelopment of individuals." said SongSiyu. "The endless training and scolding are just ways to build up our character;they are not personal." But his enthusiasm is not universal. Ten of the 13 Chinese students who joined the academy this year have transferred to other schools. But for those who stick to it, there is a reward for all the hard work. How many Chinese students are there at Valley Forge before this year? A) 10. B) 13. C) 15. D) 25.
D
Q: On Friday, Japanese researchers announced a population clock that showed a dangerous situation that the Japanese nation would disappear in 1,000 years if the falling birth rate kept the present level. Researchers in the northern city of Sendai said that Japan's population of children aged up to 14, which now stands at 16.6 million, was falling at the rate of one child per 100 seconds. It would lead to a terrible result that there would be no children left in Japan in 1,000 years. "If the rate keeps falling at that rate in our country, there will only be one child who is able to enjoy the following Children's Day left on May 5th, 3011," said Hiroshi Yoshida, a professor at Toholu University. "But 100 seconds later, a national disaster that there are no children left in Japan will happen," he added, "The nation's people will disappear for the birth rate has fallen to the level that every woman has no more than two children, which started in 1975." Yoshida said they created the population clock to make Japanese people pay close attention to that problem for their nation's future. Another study showed that Japan's population was expected to fall to one third of the present population amount: 127.7 million in the next century. The Japanese government predicted that the birth rate would just become 1.35 children per parents within 50 years. At the same time, Japanese life expectancy which is expected to ascend from 86.93 years in 2010 to 90.93 years in 2060 for women and from 79.64 years to 84.19 years for men has already been one of the highest in the world. More than 20 percent of the Japanese are aged 65 or over. It means that Japan has become one of the countries with aging populations in the world. The problem of aging populations is a headache for the government and the Japanese economy because there are fewer and fewer workers who can make money for the country. However, the government has to face the terrible situation that it needs to offer a growing number of pensions. Japanese researchers created the population clock in order to _ . A) let the Japanese give special importance to the population problems B) show the change of the Japanese population since 1975 C) explain the reason why there is a low birth rate in Japan D) tell people that the Japanese life expectancy is the highest
A: A
(Q).
It was not a good day today. Everything went wrong. First, I slept late and Mom shouted at me to wake up. When I went to the kitchen for breakfast, there was no cereal. I decided to have some toast instead, but I burned it. I had to eat it anyway because there was no more bread. There was no juice, either. I just had a glass of water. When I was almost at the bus stop, I realized that I had forgotten my wallet, so I had to go back home and get it. Of course, I missed the bus and had to wait for the next bus. I was late for school and the teacher told me to stay in the classroom at lunchtime to catch up on the schoolwork I had missed. After lunch, it was the time to give the teacher our homework. I reached into my bag to get it but it wasn't there. I had left it at home. I was in trouble again. When I got home, I went straight to my room to catch up on my homework. Mom cooked fish for dinner. She knows I don't like fish, but she thinks it is good for her son. It was a horrible day. I hope tomorrow will be better. When did the writer's bad day begin? A) At night B) In the morning. C) At lunchtime. D) In the afternoon.
(A).
B