C
As we know, it is not easy to build a satellite. Building a traditional normally takes years. The costs can be as high as $250 million or more. Most members of the design reams have worked in the field for a long time. They hold advanced degrees in math, science, or engineering.
But things are changing. High costs, unusual educational requirements and long start-up times are no longer an obstacle to space exploration. The scientists at Stanford University have developed a new type of tiny inexpensive earth-orbiting satellites that go from ideas to launch （发射）in a year.
So far, college student have built and launched several cube-shaped satellites, or CubeSats. At least 15 more are ready to go. Those already in orbit （轨道）take pictures, collect information and send it back to the earth, just as regular satellites do.
But you might not even have to wait until you get to college to start designing and building your own satellite. A new program called KatySat aims to get teenagers to take part. Once kids understand what satellites can do, says Ben Yuan, an engineer at Lockheed Martin in Menlo Park, Calif, the kinds of applications they’ll come up with may be countless.
“We’d like to put this technology（技术）in your hands,” he tells kids. “We’re going to teach you how to operate a satellite. Then we want to turn it over to you as a sandbox for you to play in. We want you to take the technology into new directions that we haven’t thought of yet.”
Education isn’t the only goal of CubeSats. Because these tiny, technology-filled boxes are relatively inexpensive to build and can be put together quickly, they’re perfect for testing new technologies that might one day be used on major space tasks.
Nowadays, college and high school students are getting a chance to learn what it takes to explore in space. Someday- perhaps a lot sooner than you imagine- you might get to design, build and launch your own satellite. If you do, you’re sure to have fun. And you might also get crazy about science for life.
58. Compared with the traditional ones, the new satellites ____.
A. need long start-up times B. are low-cost and small-sized
C. are very hard to operate D. collect more information in orbit
59. What does the underlined word “obstacle” probably mean?
A. An aim to achieve in the near future.
B. An imagination that kids usually have.
C. Something dangerous to terrify people.
D. Something difficult that stands in the way.
60. According to the passage, which of the following is true?
A. CubeSats could possibly cause pollution in space.
B. A few kids will send applications for the project.
C. Scientists designed CubeSats for kids to play with.
D. Students can’t design satellites without college education.
61. What’s the purpose of the author writing the passage?
A. To show that high technology brings a big change in kid’s life.
B. To show that kids lead the space research into a new direction.
C. To tell us that satellite technology can also be learned by kids.
D. To tell us that kids must study hard to learn satellite technology.
八、任务型阅读（共8分，每小题2分。）
阅读下面的短文，根据短文内容，完成表格。
A map is a picture of a place. There can be many different maps of the same place. A map cannot show everything about a place. For a clear map, it must show a number of things. Here, you will get to make a map which shows the things that make your community （社区）a special place to live in.
Before you start drawing, make a list of the places and things in your community that you want to include on your map. Think about places you often have to go to, places where your relatives and friends live and your favorite places. How do you get there? What roads or paths do you take? What kind of things do you see along the way? As you know, some maps are made to show locations and other maps show us how to get there. They can also show the distances.
Now, let’s create a map of your community. On a large piece of paper, draw pictures of the places or the things you decide to include on your map. Next, fill in the shapes of the places and roads in light colors. Using darker colors, fill in the areas between the features and roads on your map to make your map more interesting to look at. Every area of your map should be filled in with colors. When your map is finished, show it to your friends or family members to see what they think of it.
答案：
一、1-5 AFBDE
二、6-10 TFTFT
三、11-15 ABACB
四、16. club 17. 682679 18. certain 19. practice/practice, improve(your)English
20. the ideas/plans/programs for the summer vacation
五、21-25 BAADC 26-30 CABCC 31-35 BDADB
六、36-40 ABDCC 41-45 BACBD 46-50 BAADC
七、51-55 CBDAB 56-61 ADBDAC
八、62.map 63. places 64. fill in 65. give/offer you their advice/suggestions/opinions
九、1.ADF 2. BEHK 3.CIL
十、(A)1.the trash 2.feed my birds 3. return the CD 4. after dinner
(B)
Dear Ted,
I’m going out. Will you please do the following things? Would you mind washing the dished after you get up? Could you please feed the dog before lunch? In the afternoon, Please return the book to the library. Also, in the evening, don’t forget to cook dinner for our family. If you finish all these tasks, I’ll give you a nice gift.
Love,
Alice
