Alaska

    1 In 1959 Americans welcomedAlaskainto the Union as the 49th state¹, symbolizing a change of attitude from that held in 1867, when the peninsula was purchased fromRussia. Then, most Americans had little interest in 1 ,500 ,000 square kilometers "of icebergs and polar bears”一beyond Canada"s western borders, far from the settled areas² of the United States.

    2 In those sections of the state which lie above the Arctic Circle,Alaskastill is a land of icebergs and polar bears. Ice masses lie buried in the earth³, which is permanently frozen to a depth of 90 or more meters. From early May until early August, the midnight sun never sets on this flat, treeless region, but the sun cannot melt the icy soil more than two-thirds of a meter down.

    3 AlaskaisAmerica"s largest state, but only about 325,000 people live there. According to estimates, 800,000 hectares of its land area are fit for plowing but only about 640,000 hectares are being cultivated.

    4 ArcticAlaskahas been the home of Eskimos for countless centuries. It is believed that the Eskimos moved there fromMongoliaor Siberia, probably crossing Bering Strait⁴, named for Vitus Bering, the Danish sea captain who discoveredAlaskaon his voyage forRussiain 1741.The Eskimos are the state"s earliest known inhabitants⁵. Russian fur traders established settlements but, by the timeAlaskawas sold to theUnited States, most of the traders had departed.

    5 In 1896 gold was discovered near theKiondikeRiverinCanadajust across the Alaskan border. Thousands of Americans rushed to the region on their way toKlondike; some never returned.Alaskawas never completely cut off again, although even today transportation is a major problem. There are only two motor routes from theUSmainland, and within the state, every town has its own airfield. Planes fly passengers, mail and freight to the most distant villages.

    6 The gold that changed life so suddenly for Alaska was soon ended, and although many stories about mining camps have become part of American literature, the gold from Alaskan earth contributed less to economic progress than the fish from Alaskan waters. The fish caught in a single year range in value from $80 million to $90 million. Fur-bearing animals are plentiful in the forests and streams, and valuable fur seals inhabit the waters. After fishing, the state"s chief industry is lumber and the production of wood pulp. In recent years,Alaska"s single most important resource has become oil. The state also has large deposits of coal, copper, gold and other minerals.

词汇：

symbolize /"simbəlaiz/ v.象征

peninsular /pe"ninsjulə/ n.半岛

hectare /"hekta:(r)/n.公顷

range/reindʒ/v.(在一定范围内)变化，变动

fur-bearing /fə:"beəriŋ/ adj.有毛皮的

lumber/"lʌmbə ( r)/n.伐木，木材

pulp /pʌlp/ n.木浆

注释：

1. In 1959 Americans welcomedAlaskainto theUnionas the 49th state. 1959年美国人欢迎阿拉斯加成为美国的第49个州。the Union指美国南北战争时期支持联盟政府的各州，此处即指美国。

2. the settled areas：已有人定居的地区

3. Ice masses lie buried in the earth：地下埋藏着巨大的冰块。注意这里动词lie的用法，这里lie作半系动词用，既有动词的实义，同时又起系动词的作用，后面跟的buried是它的补语或称表语。

4. Bering Strait：白令海峡

5. the earliest known inhabitants：已知的最早的居民，也可说the earliest inhabitants known。

B because of its rich natural resources

C by the United Statesin the 19th century

D shines day and night

E only a very small percentage

F a limited amount of the gold found there

For as long as three months of a year, the sun_________on the ice-covered land of Alaska.

A:A B:B C:C D:D E:E F:F

To understand how astrology works, we should first take a quick look at the sky. Although the stars are at enormous distances, they do indeed give the impression of being affixed to the inner surface of a great hollow sphere surrounding the earth. Ancient people, in fact, literally believed in the existence of such a celestial sphere. As the earth, spins on its axis, the celestial sphere appears to turn about us each day, pivoting at points on a line with the earth’s axis of rotation. This daily turning of the sphere carries the stars around the sky, causing most of them to rise and set, but they, and constellations they define, maintains fixed patterns on the sphere, just as the continent of Australian maintains its shape on a spinning globe of the earth. Thus the stars were called fixed stars.
The motion of the sun along the ecliptic is, of course, merely a reflection of the revolution of the earth around the sun, but the ancients believed the earth was fixed and the sun had an independent motion of its own, eastward among the stars. The glare of sunlight hides the stars in daytime, but the ancients were aware that the stars were up there even at night, and the slow eastward motion of the sun around the sky, at the rate of about thirty degrees each month, caused different stars to be visible at night at different times of the year.
The moon, revolving around the earth each month, also has an independent motion in the sky. The moon, however, changes its position relatively rapidly. Although it appears to rise and set each day, as does nearly everything else in the sky, we can see the moon changing position during as short an interval as an hour or so. The moon’s path around the earth lies nearly in the same plane as the earth’s path around the sun, so the moon is never seen very far from the ecliptic in the sky. There are five other objects visible to the naked eye that also appear to move in respect to the fixed background of stars on the celestial sphere. These are the planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and the Saturn. All of them revolve around the sun in nearly the same plane as the earth does, so they, like the moon, always appear near the ecliptic. Because we see the planets from the moving earth, however, they behave in a complicated way, with their apparent motions’ on the celestial sphere reflecting both their own independent motions around the sun and our motion as well.
It is stated in astrology that______.

A:the sun is so distant from us that it was hard to follow its motion B:the sun was moving westward around the sky C:the motion of the sun is at the rate of about thirty degrees every week D:the motion of the sun is similar to the revolution of the earth around the sun

To understand how astrology works, we should first take a quick look at the sky. Although the stars are at enormous distances, they do indeed give the impression of being affixed to the inner surface of a great hollow sphere surrounding the earth. Ancient people, in fact, literally believed in the existence of such a celestial sphere. As the earth, spins on its axis, the celestial sphere appears to turn about us each day, pivoting at points on a line with the earth’s axis of rotation. This daily turning of the sphere carries the stars around the sky, causing most of them to rise and set, but they, and constellations they define, maintains fixed patterns on the sphere, just as the continent of Australian maintains its shape on a spinning globe of the earth. Thus the stars were called fixed stars.
The motion of the sun along the ecliptic is, of course, merely a reflection of the revolution of the earth around the sun, but the ancients believed the earth was fixed and the sun had an independent motion of its own, eastward among the stars. The glare of sunlight hides the stars in daytime, but the ancients were aware that the stars were up there even at night, and the slow eastward motion of the sun around the sky, at the rate of about thirty degrees each month, caused different stars to be visible at night at different times of the year.
The moon, revolving around the earth each month, also has an independent motion in the sky. The moon, however, changes its position relatively rapidly. Although it appears to rise and set each day, as does nearly everything else in the sky, we can see the moon changing position during as short an interval as an hour or so. The moon’s path around the earth lies nearly in the same plane as the earth’s path around the sun, so the moon is never seen very far from the ecliptic in the sky. There are five other objects visible to the naked eye that also appear to move in respect to the fixed background of stars on the celestial sphere. These are the planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and the Saturn. All of them revolve around the sun in nearly the same plane as the earth does, so they, like the moon, always appear near the ecliptic. Because we see the planets from the moving earth, however, they behave in a complicated way, with their apparent motions’ on the celestial sphere reflecting both their own independent motions around the sun and our motion as well.

A:the sun is so distant from us that it was hard to follow its motion B:the sun was moving westward around the sky C:the motion of the sun is at the rate of about thirty degrees every week D:the motion of the sun is similar to the revolution of the earth around the sun

Millions of stars are travelling about in space. A few form groups which journey together, but most of them travel alone. And they travel through a universe so large that one star seldom comes near to another.
We believe, however, that some two thousand million years ago, another star wandering through space, happened to come near our sun. Just as the sun and the moon raise tides on the earth, so this star must have raised tides on the surface of the sun. But they were very different from the small tides that are raised in our oceans; a large tidal wave must have travelled over the surface of the sun, at last forming a mountain so high that we cannot imagine it. As the cause of the disturbance (动荡) came nearer, so the mountain rose higher and higher. And before the star began to move away again, its tidal pull had become so powerful that this mountain was torn to pieces and threw off small parts of itself into space. These small pieces have been going round the sun ever since. They are the planets (行星).

A:the star moved away from the sun B:another star happened to come near the sun C:the sun and the moon raised the tides on the earth D:a large tidal wave of a star travelled over the surface of the sun

They are having a picnic （　） the sun.

A:under B: at C: in

Millions of stars are traveling about in space. A few form groups which journey together, but most of them travel alone. And they travel through a universe so large that one star seldom comes near to another.
We believe, however, that some two thousand million years ago, another star wandering through space, happened to come near our sun. Just as the sun and the moon raise tides on the earth, so this star must have raised tides on the surface of the sun. But they were very different from the small tides that are raised in our oceans; a large tidal wave’ must have travelled over the surface of the sun, at last forming a mountain so high that we cannot imagine it. As the cause of the disturbance (动荡) came nearer, so the mountain rose higher and higher. And before the star began to move away again, its tidal pull had become so powerful that this mountain was torn to pieces and threw off small parts of itself into space. These small pieces have been going round the sun ever since. They are the planets (行星).
Some two thousand million years ago, the mountain on the sun was raised probably because______.

A:the star moved away from the sun B:another star happened to come near the sun C:fhe sun and the moon raised the tides on the earth D:a large tidal wave of a star travelled over the surface of the sun

Millions of stars are traveling about in space. A few form groups which journey together, but most of them travel alone. And they travel through a universe so large that one star seldom comes near to another.
We believe, however, that some two thousand million years ago, another star wandering through space, happened to come near our sun. Just as the sun and the moon raise tides on the earth, so this star must have raised tides on the surface of the sun. But they were very different from the small tides that are raised in our oceans; a large tidal wave’ must have travelled over the surface of the sun, at last forming a mountain so high that we cannot imagine it. As the cause of the disturbance (动荡) came nearer, so the mountain rose higher and higher. And before the star began to move away again, its tidal pull had become so powerful that this mountain was torn to pieces and threw off small parts of itself into space. These small pieces have been going round the sun ever since. They are the planets (行星).
Some two thousand million years ago, the mountain on the sun was raised probably because______.

A:the star moved away from the sun B:another star happened to come near the sun C:fhe sun and the moon raised the tides on the earth D:a large tidal wave of a star travelled over the surface of the sun

Between now(June) and Labor Day, millions of American will offer up their bodies to the sun’s rays. A tan indicates health and beauty, and most sun worshippers will sacrifice a lot to achieve it—including themselves. With each hour, the sun’s ultraviolet radiation produces irreversible damage, hastening the development of unsightly wrinkles. And with each year on the beach or rooftop, the sunbather increases his risk of getting skin cancer.
Skin cancer is by far the most common form of cancer. An estimated 400000 new cases will be detected this year in the United States, and almost all of them can be blamed on overexposure to the sun. Fortunately, most of these cancers are highly curable. But they can be disfiguring and take time to treat. For that reason, sun worshippers should treat deity with a good deal of awe.
Sunburn, of course, is the initial hazard posed by UV radiation. Prolonged exposure to UV, however, interferes with the production of collagen fibers in the dermis, causing the skin to lose elasticity and creating premature wrinkles. Further deterioration of the dermis deprives the epidermis of nutrition and causes it to become thin and dry.
Cancer is UV’s final insult. Short-wave radiant energy, especially from the UV-B band, breaks the strands of DNA. Enzymes work constantly to rearrange the DNA into proper sequence, but with repeated UV exposure, the repair process may eventually break down. Then the mutant DNA may produce a colony of cancer cells.
But skin cancer may be avoided with a good dose of common sense. People with fair skin and blue eyes who burn easily stand the highest risk. Special danger spots are the parts of the body most constantly exposed to the sun, such as the cheeks, nose, lower lip and the ears. People who have already developed precancerous lesions or had one skin cancer growth stand a greatly increased chance of developing others. Dermatologists recommend avoiding the sun when it is most intense—between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Anyone who insists on sunbathing should use a good sun screen. These lotions and salves contain chemicals, such as paraaminobenzoic acid, that block out the burning UV-B radiation while permitting the tanning rays to reach the skin.

A:something mysterious B:the skin cancer C:the sun D:overexposure to the sun