A
Of all the planets, none has captured the world’s imagination like Mars.Its reddish color and changes in brightness over time make the planet an unforgettable sight.
In Cosmos, the television science series from the 1980s, scientist Carl Sagan talked about some traditional ideas about Mars.Some of these ideas are from the English science fiction writer H．G.Well’s The War of the Worlds.Others are from the mistaken science of Percival Lowell, the American astronomer who believed intelligent beings lived on Mars.Wells described Martians as threatening.Lowell imagined them as the hopeful engineers of great works.Carl Sagan said that both ideas influenced the public deeply.
Today, Mars continues to excite humans — not as the object of science fiction but of scientific study.Space scientists have collected a wealth of information from spacecraft that have orbited, landed on and dug into the Martian surface.
The Smithsonian’s Mars Day offered a chance for people of all ages to touch Mars, or at least a piece of it.Allison and Alycia from Silver Spring, Maryland, brought their children, Grace, Sam, Ryan and Emma.They heard about Mars and its geology from experts.They could see a test version of the Viking Landers that reached Mars in July of 1976.They also saw meteorites (陨星)known to have come from the red, or reddish planet.Eightyearold Sam learned that the ancient description of Mars as red is not exactly right.He said，“It’s actually orangish more than red and it’s also kind of brown.” Emma is six.She learned about the volcanic activity that has shaped the surface of Mars.She said，“The closest thing to Mars — the stuff — is from volcanoes mostly.”
Mars Day offered Allison and Alycia’s children a chance to learn more about a world that they are very likely to set foot on within their lifetimes.
( )1.What is Paragraph 2 mainly about?
A．Why Martians were considered threatening.
B．Why Mars has captured the world’s imagination.
C．What people generally thought of Mars in the past.
D．How H．G.Wells got the idea for his science fiction.
( )2.It is implied in Paragraph 3 that______.
A．today’s space scientists still know nothing about Mars
B．today’s space scientists are very interested in Mars
C．science fiction films are no longer set in Mars
D．space scientists haven’t made any progress in knowing Mars
( )3.Sam would probably agree that ________.
A．Mars is not really red
B．no meteorites have come from Mars
C．Mars can’t be described as a little brown
D．the ancient description of Mars’ color is true
【答案与解析】
本文主要介绍了在“火星日”，人们可以对火星有更好的了解和认识。
1．C 主旨大意题。根据第二段第一句“the television science series from the 1980s, scientist Carl Sagan talked about some traditional ideas about Mars.”可知，主要是讲人们关于火星的一些传统认识。
2．B 推理判断题。根据第三段“Today, Mars continues to excite humans－not as the object of science fiction but of scientific study.”和最后一句“Space scientists have collected a wealth of information…”可推断，现在的航天科学家们对火星很感兴趣。
3．A 根据第四段的“He said，’It’s actually orangish more than red and it’s also kind of brown.’”句意：他说火星并不是红色的，而是橘黄色甚至带点褐色，所以应选符合此意的选项。
