C

Sitting is an art that isn’t getting passed along. People these days feel as though they have to be doing something. If they are not working, they are jogging, or playing tennis or golf, or taking courses to improve their minds or bodies — or they are parked in front of the TV. Sitting in front of the TV isn’t sitting — it’s watching.

People used to sit a whole lot. You would walk down the street or drive down the road, and there they would be, out on the doorsteps, sitting. You could go down to the store and sit on the bench out front in the summer or around the fire in the winter. There were sitting benches out in the town square. At the garage, there were straight-backed chairs. There among the oil cans and tires and spare parts, you could kick back and sit.

Houses used to have sitting rooms, where the grown-ups would go after Sunday dinner. Mom and Dad, Grandpa and Aunt Ruby would sit and digest(消化) the fried chicken and talk about Aunt Ethel’s illness, and how well the minister did today. Outside, the children would play, and the afternoon would pass by in a comfortable haze(悠閑的氛圍).

That sort of thing looks like doing nothing. A recharging battery(正充電的電池) doesn’t look as if it’s doing anything either. Sitting restores your soul. If you want to enjoy a truly full life, don’t just do something — sit there.

63. What message does the author try to get through to us?

A. People should make better use of their sitting room.

B. People should spend less time watching TV.

C. People should pass down their good habits.

D. People should take things easy for their own good.

64. We can learn from the second paragraph that ________.

A. people lived a more restful life in the past

B. towns were built to make living convenient

C. small town garages had a lot to offer

D. people enjoyed going out for a drive

65. The sitting room mentioned in the text used to be a place for _______.

A. eating food B. watching TV

C. gathering together D. playing with children

66. From the text we know the writer believes ______.

A. sitting has a good spiritual effect

B. sitting helps people remember the past

C. a sitting room may have different purposes

D. a sitting room is important for the old

?

D

Houston, Texas(June 8, 2002) — In 2004, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration(NASA) will send two robots(機器人) to separate places of Mars to seek out past or present signs of water. It is an exciting idea to send two robots driving over very different places of Mars at the same time, to be able to see what is on the other side of the hill.

Last month, NASA announced it was sending one robot to Mars, but after two weeks, it decided there was enough money for two. The robots will be sent up within two weeks of each other in May and June of 2003 from Kennedy Space Center. If all goes well, the two spacecraft(宇宙飛船) will touch down on Mars, after a seven-and-a-half-month space flight, on January 2 and 20, 2004.

The robots, each weighing 150 kilograms, can cover 100 meters per day. They are designed to be able to examine the mineral content of the soil, and their special camera will take pictures of the lands and hills. Although they will be under control from Earth, the robots are able to move more freely compared to those sent up before them.

The actual landing points have not been determined yet, but the scientists say it will be in areas where they hope to find water.

67. According to the news report, scientists plan to send robots up to Mars to ______.

A. find out whether there is water on Mars

B. see if robots can find minerals there

C. test how fast robots can drive there

D. prove that robots can work on Mars

68. How long will the two robots be sent to Mars?

A. 1 year B. 7.5 months. C. 2 months. D. 2 weeks.

69. One of the important jobs for the robots on Mars is to ________.

A. study the soil B. walk everywhere

C. test the new camera D. find a suitable landing point

70. We can infer from the last sentence that scientists _______.

A. have changed the landing points many times

B. hope to land the robots on the surface of water

C. are still working on the plan

D. know where they can find water