A
The year is 2094. It has been announced that a comet (彗星) is heading towards the Earth. Most of it will miss our planet, but two pieces will probably hit the southern half of the Earth.
On 17 July, a piece four kilometers wide enters the Earth’s atmosphere with a massive explosion. About half of the piece is destroyed, but the remaining part hits the South Atlantic at 200 times the speed of sound. The sea boils and a huge hole is made in the sea bed. Huge waves are created and spread outwards from the hole. The wall of water, a kilometer high, rushes towards southern Africa at 800 kilometers an hou r. Cities on the African coast are totally destroyed and millions of people are drowned.
Before the waves reach South America, the second piece of the comet lands in Argentina. Earthquakes and volcanoes are set off in the Andes Mountains. The shock waves move north into California and all around the Pacific Ocean. The cities of Los Angeles, San Francisco and Tokyo are completely destroyed by earthquakes. Millions of people in the southern half of the earth are already dead, but the north won’t escape for long. Because of the explosions, the sun is hidden by clouds of dust, and temperatures around the world fall to almost zero. Crops are ruined. The sun won’t be seen again for many years. Wars break out as countries fight for food. A year later, no more than 10 million people remain alive.
Could it really happen? In fact, it has already happened more than once in the history of the Earth. The dinosaurs were on the Earth for over 160 million years. Then about 65 million years ago they suddenly disappeared. Many scientists believe that the Earth was hit by a piece of object in space. The dinosaurs couldn’t live through the cold climate that followed and they died out. Will we meet the same end?
语篇解读：文章主要描述了2094年如果一颗彗星的碎片撞向地球，人类可能面临终结。
1．What is mainly described in the passage?
A．A historical discovery.
B．An even t of imagination.
C．A research on space.
D．A scientific adventure.
解析：选B 细节理解题。根据第一段的时间2094以及下文的内容可知，文章描述了人类在2094年可能会遭遇的灾难。这些事情只是一种想象而已。
2．When the first piece hits the South Atlantic, it causes ________.
A．an earthquake B．damages to cities
C．an Earth explosion D．huge waves
解析：选D 细节理解题。根据文章第二段中“Huge waves are created and spread outwards from the hole.”可知答案。
3．Why can’t the northern half of the earth escape for long?
A．Because the land is covered with water.
B．Because the light and heat from the sun can not reach the earth.
C．Because people there can not live at the temperature of zero.
D．Because wars break out among countries.
解析：选B 推理判断题。文章第三段中提到，南半球的数以百万计的人已经死了，而北半球也逃脱不了这种噩运。因为太阳照不到地球，地球上的温度几乎降到了零度。庄稼遭到了破坏，食物缺乏导致战争的爆发。所以，一切的根源在于B项所提到的事情。
4．By giving the example of dinosaurs, the author tries to prove ________.
A．animals could not live in the cold climate
B．what happened 65 million years ago was an invented story
C．the human beings will die out in 2094
D．the Earth could be hit by other objects in space
解析：选D 推理判断题。根据最后一段中的“Could it really happen？”以及“Will we meet the same end？”两个问题的提出可知，作者是想通过举恐龙这一例子说明地球很有可能再次遭遇撞击。
