Remember the first time we ______ , Peterson?

—— Of course, I ______ . We’ve been close friends ever since.

A. met; do             B. met; did        C. had met; did      D. have met; do

—Did you find the missing couple in the mountain yesterday?

   —No, but we ________ to get in touch with them ever since.

A.have tried　　　　　　　　　　          B.have been trying

C.had tried　　　　　　　　　　　         D.had been trying

I believe honesty is one of the greatest gifts. I know they call it a lot of fancy names these days, like  36_ and straightforward .And it’s still what  37  a man a good citizen .This is my secret ,and I try to live by .
I’ve been in the taxi business for thirty-five year,  38  there is a lot about it that is not so good. Taxi drivers have to be rough and tumble (亂作一團(tuán)) fellows to be able to take it in New York. You’ve got to be  39  to fight the New York traffic eight hours a day . Because taxi drivers are tough, people get the   40  impression that they are bad .Taxi drivers are just like other people. Most of them will act as   41  fellows. You read in the papers almost every week   42  a taxi driver turns in money or jewels or like that people leave in their   43  . If they weren’t hones, you wouldn’t be reading those stories in the papers. One time .I found an emerald (翡翠的) ring in my car. I remembered helping a lady with a lot of suitcases that day , so I went back to where I had   44  . It took me almost two days to wait for her in order to return her   45  to her. I didn’t get much as “thank you”.  46  I felt good because I had done what was right. I think I felt better than she   47  .
I was born and raised in Ireland until I was nineteen years old. I came to this country in 1913 where I   48  several jobs to earn a few dollars before joining the army in Word War I. After being discharged (退伍), I bought my own car and have owned one ever since. It hasn’t been too easy   49  , but my wife takes care of our money and we have a good bit   50  for a rainy day (一時(shí)之需). In all my years of driving a taxi, I have never had   51  with the public, not even with drunks. Even if they get a little headstrong (頑固的) once in a while, I just agree with them and then they behave themselves.
People ask me about tips. As far as I know,   52  everyone will give you something , because most Americans are   53  generous . I always try to be nice to everyone, whether they   54  or not. I believe in God and try to be a good member of my parish (教區(qū) ). I try to act toward others like I think god wants me to act. I have been trying this for a long time, and the   55  I try , the easier it gets.

Scientists are worried that an asteroid(小行星) will possibly hit the earth in 2036. If scientists are right, planet earth is 24 years away from a major disaster.

Scientists have been monitoring the progress of a 390-metre-wide asteroid ever since it was discovered last June. They have announced that it could hit the earth, causing huge damage, in 2036.

NASA estimates that the impact from the asteroid named after Apophis and ancient Egyptian demon(魔鬼) would release more than 100,000 times the energy released in the nuclear explosion over Hiroshima. Thousands of square kilometers would be directly affected by the explosion. The whole planet would see the effects of the dust released into the atmosphere.

This is the worst possible scenario(情景) of any asteroid in recorded history.

Having more than 20 years’ warning of possible impact might seem plenty of time. But scientists insist that there is actually very little time left to decide.

Luckily, however, they aren’t short on ideas for deflecting the asteroid. The favored method is also probably the easiest—throwing a spacecraft at the asteroid to change its direction. The European Space Agency plans to test this in the next decade.

One idea that seems to have no support from astronomers is the use of explosive, although this sounds more likely to the public or Hollywood producer.

At present, scientists are trying to make a better estimate of how much time we have, through more observations.

In spring of next year, there will be another chance for radar observation of Apophis. This will help astronomers calculate the orbits of the asteroid more accurately.

If, at that stage, they can’t rule out an impact with the earth in 2036, the next chance to make better observations will not be until 2016, then 2029.

“If we wait until 2029 and the worst—case scenario turns out to be true, it would seem unlikely that we’d be able to do anything about 2036,” warns Prof Fitzsimmons.

1.What does the underlined word “deflecting” most probably mean?

2.According to the scientists’ observation, _______.

3.What is the impact from Apophis if it hits the earth?

4.It can be inferred from the text that _____.

________ most children nowadays are the only children, they tend to be more self-centered.

A. Even though                 B. Now that                   C. Only if                     D. Ever since