My name is Clara. I still remember that chilly December day, sitting in science class.  25   (finish) a worksheet early，I picked up a TIME for Kids magazine. A piece of news caught my eye: NASA was holding   26   essay contest to name its Mars rover(火星探测器).Before I even knew anything else about it, a single word flooded my 11-year-old mind, Curiosity.

I couldn’t wait for the bell to ring so I could get started on my essay. That afternoon, I raced home, sat down at the computer, and typed   27   my fingers ached. “Curiosity is an everlasting flame that burns in everyone’s mind...”

Five months later, my mom received a phone call, and immediately, a wide smile   28   (spread) across her face.

On August 5,2012, at 10:31 p.m., the rover named Curiosity touched down safely on the surface of Mars, and I   29   (honour) to have a front-row seat in NASA.

Curiosity is such an important part of who I am. I have always been fascinated by the stars, the planets, the sky and the universe. I remember as a little girl, my grandmother and I   30   sit together in the backyard for hours. She’d tell me stories and point out the stars. Grandma lived in China, thousands of miles away from my home in Kansas, but the stars kept us together even when we were apart. They were always there, yet there was so much I didn’t know about   31_. That’s what I love so much about space.

People often ask me why we go to faraway places like Mars. My answer is simple because we’re curious. We human beings do not just hole up in one place. We are constantly wondering and trying to find out   32   is over the hill and beyond the horizon.

Fear (33)______ be felt in the heart as well as in the head, according to a study that has found a link between the cycles of a beating heart and the chance of someone feeling fear.

Tests on healthy volunteers found that they were more likely to feel a sense of fear at the moment when their hearts are contracting（收缩）and pumping blood around their bodies, compared with the point (34)________ the heartbeat is relaxed. Scientists say the results suggested that the heart is able to influence (35)_______ the brain responds to a fearful event, depending on which point it is at in its regular cycle of contraction and relaxation.

Sarah Garfinkel at the Brighton and Sussex Medical School said, “Our study show for the first time that the way (36)_______ we deal with fear is different, depending on when we see fearful pictures in relation to our heart.

 The study tested 20 healthy volunteers on their reactions to fear as they were shown pictures of fearful faces. Dr. Garfinkel said, “The study showed that fearful faces are better noticed when the heart is pumping (37)_______ when it is relaxed. Thus our hearts can also affect what we see and what we don’t see — and guide whether we see fear.”

 (38)_________ (understand) this relationship further, the scientists also used a brain scanner to show how the brain influences the way the heart changes a person’s feeling of fear. “So far we (39)______(find) an important mechanism by which the heart and brain ‘speak’ to each other to change our feelings and reduce fear” Dr. Garfinkel said. “We hope that by increasing our understanding about how fear is dealt with and ways that it could be reduced, we may be able to develop more successful treatments for anxiety, disorders, and also for (40)________ who are suffering from serious stress disorder.”

Technology is the application of knowledge to production. Thanks to modern technology, we have been able to increase greatly the efficiency of our work 　41　. New machines and new methods have helped to cut down time and expense while increasing 　42　 output. This has meant more production and a higher standard of living. For most people in America, modern technology is thought of as the reason why we can have cars and television sets. However, technology has also increased the amount of food 　43　 to us, by means of modern farming machinery and animal breeding techniques, and has extended our life span through medical technology.

Will mankind continue to live longer and have a higher quality of life? In large 　44　　the answer depends on technology and our ability to use it widely. If we keep making progress as we have over the past fifty years, the answer is 　45　 yes. The advancement of technology depends upon research and development, and the latest 　46　 show that the United States is continuing to pump billions of dollars annually into such efforts. So while we are running out of some scarce resources we may well find 　47　 substitutes for many of them through our research programs.

Therefore, in the final analysis the three major factors of production (land, labor and capital) are all influenced by technology. When we need new techniques in medicine, people will start     48　 new technology to meet those needs. As equipment proves to be slow or inefficient, new machines will be 　49   . Technology responds to our needs in helping us maintain our   50    of living.

The responsibilities of job, home and family all too often transform the daily routine into a huge burden. Enjoying quality leisure time becomes   51   .

True leisure means engaging in a    52    and rewarding activity without being    53     by other aspects of your life. Sometimes, the      54   you experience during the week make you place great emphasis on weekends and other days off. You hope to relax, but the stress is   55  . You can't rest even when you have the time to do so. When time is limited, leisure activities are usually the first items to     56      from the daily schedule.

If you routinely      57    your leisure time because you have "more important things to do," you may be underestimating how much time the things     58     take. Most people routinely shortchange themselves on the amount of time required to complete a given task. The problem is a      59      to evaluate performance honestly.

60     , simplifying your life will let you have more windows of opportunity to do stuff just for fun. Maybe you need to relearn to relax.

Spare Time for Your    61    : Devote one afternoon or evening per week    62   to doing something that you enjoy, listening to music, assembling a jigsaw puzzle. Do whatever you always wish to but never seem to find time for. And do it where there's nothing to remind you of other     63   .

Choose Low-Tech: The popular fascination with technological advances in all areas of life has diverted(偏离) attention from the simple pleasures of many     64     pastimes. People think they must have the best, most up-to-date equipment available to enjoy themselves. When     65    trends becomes the focus, the pure pleasure of leisure is lost.

51.   A. difficult           B. essential                     C. noticeable                   D. incapable

52.   A. reluctant         B. pleasurable          C. delicate                   D. disgusting

53.   A. cultivated                 B. ashamed               C. preoccupied        D. oppressed

54.   A. favour                    B. depression          C. stress                           D. threat

55.   A. reasonable           B. enormous                    C. ignorant                D. adjusted

56.   A. destroy              B. consider                C. recognize                    D. disappear

57.   A. estimate           B. fulfill                        C. abandon               D. expand

58.   A. constantly         B. actually                   C. initially                  D. equally

59.   A. variety                   B. delay                            C. failure                    D. record

60.   A. Consequently          B. However                C. Moreover                     D. Therefore

61.   A. Instincts             B. Images                   C. Desires                D. Tasks

62.   A. occasionally     B. entirely                   C. primarily               D. dramatically

63.   A. duties                    B. expectations        C. stimulations          D. limitations

64.   A. uncommon           B. individual                     C. traditional            D. physical

65.   A. keeping up with   B. breaking away from C. getting rid of              D. making up for

Cara Lang is 13. She lives in Boston, Massachusetts, in the U.S. Last Thursday, she didn’t go to school. She went to work with her father instead. Every year, on the fourth Thursday in April, millions of young girls go to work. This is Take Our Daughters to Work Day. The girls are between the ages of 9 and 15. They spend the day at work with an adult, usually a mother, father, aunt, or uncle. They go to offices, police stations, laboratories, and other places where their parents or other family members work. Next year, the day will include sons, too.

       The Ms. Foundation, an organization for women, started the program about ten years ago. In the U.S., many women work outside the home. The Ms. Foundation wanted girls to find out about many different kinds of jobs. Then, when the girls grow up, they can choose a job they like.

       Cara’s father is a film director. Cara says, “It was very exciting for me to go to the studio with my dad. I saw a lot of people doing different jobs.” Many businesses have special activities for girls on this day. Last year, Cara went to work with her aunt at the University of Massachusetts. In the engineering department, the girls learned to build a bridge with toothpicks and candy. In the chemistry department, they learned to use scales. They learned about many other kinds of jobs, too.

       Right now, Cara does not know what job she will have when she grows up. But because of Take Our Daughter to Work Day, she knows she has many choices.

66.   What is Cara’s father?

A. An engineer.         B. An official.                    C. A moviemaker.            D. A professor.

67.  According to the passage, Take Our Daughter to Work Day is __________.  

       A. on every Thursday in April                               B. A holiday for girls of all ages

       C. a day for girls to know about jobs                D. a day for girls to get a job easily

68.  On this special day, Cara has done all the following EXCEPT that __________.

       A. she learned to use scales

       B. she worked as an actress

       C. she went to work with her aunt

       D. she used toothpicks and candy to build a bridge

69. What is probably the best title for the passage?　　

       A. Cara Lang, a Fortunate Girl

       B. Take Our Daughters to Work Day

       C. Children’s Day and Work Day

       D. Ms. Foundation, an organization for Women