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TOEFL Directory > TOEFL writing > TOEFL Reading Class Unit 2_Passage 1_Question 1-11
TOEFL Reading Class Unit 2_Passage 1_Question 1-11
You have about 15 minutes to finish this passage.
First,use about 3-4 minutes to read the passage, try to understand the main idea of this passage.
Don't read it so slowly or try to remember all details.You need to do "fast reading",and "scan" the passage.
Second, read questions 1-11, and with questions you go back the passage again and look for correct answers.
Questions 1-11
Passage 1
The development of advanced radio telescopes has allowed astronomers to attempt to answer a question that has long intrigued scientists, philosophers, and laypersons alike: Do other forms of intelligent life exist elsewhere in the universe? Although the legends of many ancient cultures hold that divine beings created the heavens and controlled such cosmic events as eclipses, the idea that other planets harbor life similar in development and intelligence to our own did not become popular until the nineteenth century, when a few scientists considered ways in which earthlings might contact other beings. One plan envisioned the building of huge canals in the desert in the shape of easily recognizable geometric symbols; when filled with gasoline and ignited, the canals would signal the presence of life on Earth to neighboring worlds. Since then, many astronomers have become seriously interested in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, or SETI. They assume that alien beings elsewhere in the galaxy will probably try to contact earthlings, using flashes of light to carry their messages. In 1960 one astronomer performed one of the first serious searches for extraterrestrial life, called Project Ozma. The astronomer turned a sensitive radio telescope in the direction of nearby stars Tau Ceti and Epsilon Eridani but found no transmissions that might be beacons from extraterrestrial civilizations. Since Project Ozma, about four dozen other searches have been conducted. No one has yet received an unambiguous signal from an extraterrestrial civilization, and numerous false alarms have been caused by interference from radio-wave sources here on Earth.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA, has also been involved in SETI and sought funding from the United States Congress to build a complete receiver and to undertake a ten-year search program. One half of this search plan calls for using radio telescopes in its Deep-Space Network to repeatedly scan the entire sky. The other half involves using its 1,000-foot telescope to listen to nearby stars similar to the Sun that may have Earthlike planets orbiting around them. Although scientists realize their survey will be far from complete, they believe the search must begin with small efforts. Said one scientist: "We're new at this business, and when you walk into a dark, unfamiliar forest, you should probably listen before you shout.?br />
1. What does the passage mainly discuss?
a) Planets harboring extraterrestrial life
b) Types of extraterrestrial civilizations
c) Developments in NASA's Deep-Space Network
d) The search for extraterrestrial intelligence
2. The word envisioned in the passage is closest in meaning to
a) interfered with
b) conceived of
c) authorized
d) facilitated
3. According to the passage, which of the following ideas first became popular in the nineteenth century?
a) Divine beings created the heavens.
b) Building canals could make desert regions habitable.
c) Intelligent life might inhabit other planets.
d) Eclipses were caused by alien beings.
4. According to the passage, astronomers have assumed that intelligent life-forms will try to contact earthlings by
a) sending spaceships to Earth
b) igniting geometrically shaped canals
c) sounding loud alarms
d) transmitting flashes of light
5. The word scan in the passage is closest in meaning to
a) measure
b) photograph
c) map
d) examine
6. The word them in the passage refers to
a) telescopes
b) planets
c) stars
d) scientists
7. The word orbiting in the passage is closest in meaning to
a) glowing
b) developing
c) exploding
d) revolving
8. According to the passage, NASA plans to direct its 1,000-foot telescope toward
a) stars near the Earth
b) distant galaxies
c) planets in our solar system
d) the Sun
9. Omitted
10. In the passage, walking into a dark, unfamiliar forest is being compared to studying
a) the Universe
b) the Earth's desert regions
c) ancient civilizations
d) human intelligence
11. Paragraph 3 answers which of the following questions?
How might a search for extraterrestrial life be conducted?
When will extraterrestrial life probably be discovered?
Why should a search for extraterrestrial life be implemented?
On which planets will extraterrestrial life most likely be found?
Click here to get the detail explanations and correct answers.
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